Stamping on Butterflies
by kjate95
Summary: I was the first Hyuuga in five generations to be born without a Byakugan. So an easy curse-seal free life for me then? Wrong. Arranged marriages and clan conspiracies were only the start. In stamping on a few too many unsuspecting butterflies I managed to change more than I bargained for... but, I mean, the Uchiha massacre wasn't that significant, right? (Different take on SI/OC)
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor do I own any of the characters. They all belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

**AUTHORS NOTE: This story will not be your typical OC/Self-insert. She going to interact with characters and effect their timeline but still completely follow her own path, and I'm going to try as hard as I can not to get stuck in cliche's. This will definitely be different. It will be about character building and my aim is to try and make you actually care about what happens to my OC at the end of the day. Nanami is full of surprises and if your unsure with the first chapter at least try and make it to the second as that's where some of the drama really starts to begin.**

**Thanks for giving it a try and I hope you enjoy!**

**Stamping on Butterflies**

I was the first Hyuuga in five generations to be born without a Byakugan. So an easy curse-seal free life for me then? Wrong. Arranged marriages and clan conspiracies were only the start. In stamping on a few too many unsuspecting butterflies I managed to change more than I bargained for... but, I mean, the Uchiha massacre wasn't that significant, right? SI/OC

Chapter one

'_Do not take life too seriously. You will never get out of it alive' - Elbert Hubbard_

I don't remember anything from my first few years. I mean, do you remember your time as a tiny baby? The brain of an infant isn't yet developed enough to retain substantial amounts of detailed information and therefore, even though I had the memories of a fully grown women hidden somewhere in my subconscious mind, I didn't become self-aware until I was around two and a half years of age. But when I did suddenly remember everything, it was a sensory overload which had me reeling in pain and clutching my tiny head in agony. I screamed and cried for hours and could hardly register anything other than all the useless facts from a life long ago. Yeah, I know, a full grown woman crying her eyes out from a little head ache. But it really did hurt!

_Is this what happens when you lose your memory? _I wondered idly. This pain never happened in the movies when the character who had lost their memories suddenly got them back again. Hollywood depicted it as if an interesting thought had suddenly occurred to them and they would blink a few times in pleasant surprise. Or horror, I suppose, depending on what they remembered. But I guess this wasn't a case of amnesia on my part; there was obviously something much larger going on.

There was always the chance that I had finally gone crazy, because quite frankly for me that could definitely have happened. The pain was near unbearable in my head but in my body it felt as if something was burning me from the inside out. But whatever the pain was it was causing me to become super-aware of everything around me.

_Human sonar,_ I giggled to myself in my pain induced delirium. But quickly that fiery feeling abated and I could no longer sense my surroundings.

After a while, when the images started to fade and my wailing sobs quieted down to soft whimpers, I realized I was not alone. Someone was holding me.

I looked up with effort and met the pupil-less eyes of a young boy, hardly much older than three or four. He was hugging me very tightly, his little arms wrapped around me and his hands twisting in my clothing. He had tears running down his face and was looking at me with fear and trepidation. _Why's he scared of me? _I wondered dreamily. _He's bigger than me._ It hardly occurred to me of why he might be bigger than me, my mind still recovering from the vicious onslaught of memories.

The pain in my head was slowing down to a dull throb. No new information was entering my mind and I sighed in relief. I closed my eyes and lent into the boys reassuring embrace, suddenly exhausted. I had no energy left to question anything; I was too tired.

"Nanami?" the boy almost shouted, his voice hitching in distress.

_Nanami? I wonder what that means. _But before I could ask the boy, I had slipped into unconsciousness.

The next morning I awoke and found the same little boy who had been cradling me from the night before, now hovering over my face with a severe look of concentration.

"Ahh!" I exclaimed in shock. Obviously this boy had no concept of personal space.

"Nana?" asked the boy hesitantly. It was then that I noticed his eyes of pale lavender and the fact that they were, quite disturbingly, lacking any pupils. I felt my jaw drop in childish wonder and as if of their own accord, my hands moved to touch the little boys face. He didn't flinch away, instead a smile erupted across his expression in relief and before I knew it I was pulled into a near bone crushing hug.

He started mumbling things as he picked me up and spun me around. I couldn't help it, I laughed. It was fun! I wasn't worried that this stranger was swinging me up in the air and near crying into my hair. He felt familiar. I felt like I could trust him. He was obviously a harmless child anyway – I didn't think I had much to worry about.

We continued like this for a few more moments before footsteps could be heard coming closer. The boy collected himself immediately in an almost panicked state. Quickly, he put me down on the floor and held my hand firmly. I was unstable on my feet and almost fell over but the boy held on tightly and I remained standing. While I had the chance I looked around the room curiously. The style was Japanese with hardly any furniture save a desk, a chest of draws and a futon which we had just been jumping all over. Not only this but in the typical oriental style the walls looked like I could jump right through them, giving the illusion of privacy and security, but really anyone passing would be able to hear the most intimate of conversation. _Where am I? _I wondered_._ But before I could investigate any more into my surroundings or ask the young boy, the paper wall opened and in stepped a giant.

Okay, it wasn't a giant. But I was obviously a small child again and so everyone taller than four foot looked like a giant. The man looked very similar to the young boy with the same eyes and sleek black hair. His nose, however, seemed to be turned up in distain and his lips turned down in a permanent position of unhappiness. I figured that they must be close relatives at the least, if not father and son.

As soon as his eyes turned on us the young boy bowed in respect. I watched him do it and attempted to bow as well, not wanting to seem impolite. There was obviously something going on here that I had yet to grasp and I figured that the smart option was to go along with it until I had figured it all out. Unfortunately it seemed I had yet to grasp the concept of up and down and I felt myself begin to topple forward. Thankfully, the boy was still holding my hand and managed to catch me before I hit the floor. I felt my cheeks blushing red as he steadied me again. When I looked up I saw a look of astonishment on the young boys face and an expression of deep interest on the elders. The elder man studied me critically for a few moments before turning to the boy and addressing him, as if forgetting I was even there.

"Blah, Blah, Blah," The man said sharply. Well, maybe that's not exactly what he said, but it might as well have been for all that I could understand of it. The young boy replied in a formal, polite manor, his tone hinting no opinion or emotion, his whole countenance completely different from when he had been throwing me around. The two conversed for a few minutes and then the elder left as quickly as he had come. The boy at my side didn't move until we could no longer hear footsteps in the corridor and then turned to me with a grin. I felt privileged that he would show me his smile. He didn't seem the type that would give them out freely.

The following weeks were some of the most confusing of my life; both past and present. At first I had to get my head round the fact that I had been reincarnated; which I can tell you is not an easy transition. Once I had figured this out it didn't take me long to realize that I was in the Naruto-verse. At first I had a typical fan girl moment because, let's be honest, who wouldn't? I wasn't obsessed with the anime and I never really read the manga, but that didn't mean that it wasn't absolutely epic to be in another world. However, the first hurdle I had to cross was the language barrier. They all spoke Japanese. Annoying but unavoidable I suppose. Learning new languages was never my forte but I couldn't really attempt to communicate in English either. So I had to learn, but as it turns out grasping language as a child is relatively easy compared to when you are a fully grown adult and set in your ways. So soon enough I could at least understand the basics of what people were saying to me even if I couldn't yet talk back.

Unfortunately, this wasn't anywhere near my biggest problem. You see, it would seem as if I had been born as a branch member of the Hyuuga clan. Oh and what a bundle of laughs they seemed to be.

But it wasn't all bad because, as it turned out that, the boy that had been looking after me was my big brother; none other than Hyuuga Neji himself. Of course, I fangirled. When I realized who he was I refused to let go of his hand, and bless his little heart, he didn't seem to mind at all. I think I must have been a really unresponsive baby because every time I did something even remotely intelligent he would look at me excitedly and get me to do it again. I wondered if this was how all babies felt.

He was around three, about a year older than me and if I remembered his personal history correctly at this point in time he still had his father – or rather our father. It turned out to be the rather miserable looking man that had found me and Neji the day that I had woken up after regaining my memories. Let's put it this way; he wasn't a doting father. The man was all about formality and boundaries. He never once went to hug either of his children. Instead, he had Neji report both of our progress once a week in a meeting in his study. After a detailed report which Hizashi would listen to intently, for he never did anything half way, he would send us away with another branch family member who acted as our surrogate mother; her name was Suki. Of course, Neji would often whisper to me that she wasn't our mother and that our real mother had died shortly after giving birth to me. I knew it couldn't have been in child birth because I wasn't even supposed to exist in this time and in the original timeline she wasn't around either. So I saw no reason to be guilty.

Whenever we would present ourselves to Hizashi, Neji would try so very hard to please him. He would listen with devotion and be ecstatic afterwards when our father would say that he was happy with our progression. I wasn't quite the same, no longer really a young child which needed their parent's approval every few minutes. But I did appreciate that he really did care about us in his own way.

I found out what my name was as well; Nanami. I liked it and thought it was sweet but I also wanted to shorten this down to Nana. Nana sounded more like me. However I didn't think telling anyone this would change things as the Hyuuga were very formal and they wouldn't agree to calling me anything other than my full name. So I settled with the thought that although it would be doomed to be known as Nanami inside the compound walls, outside these walls I would make my name as Nana only. I couldn't wait to go to school for this simple reason alone. However, I found that when Neji was in a particular mood he would allow himself to refer to me as Nana. But these occasions were far and few between.

I spent most of my time with Neji. He would play with me endlessly, keeping me entertained as well as himself. He seemed to really love me and I saw on many occasions he had a rather sweet protectiveness of me. As a big brother should. But I still found it difficult to see him as as my _big_ brother considering how young he was. He spent hours sitting with me and teaching me how to speak and write. My chubby baby fingers would struggle but I would have fun anyway, throwing ink at the page and laughing merrily as Neji cleaned up as it went everywhere. He didn't seem to mind though.

_Where is that quiet, moody, insufferable Neji that we know from his genin days? _I questioned. _Could his father's death really have affected him so much? This child has no quarrels with an unwanted fate or preconditioned opinions of what his destiny was doomed to be! _This thought made me sad, so I stopped it immediately. There really was very little I could do.

I went for a while without talking at all. I didn't see the point when nobody asked me anything directly and I didn't have that natural childhood curiosity about the world around me to ask everyone 'why?' constantly. So, after getting a pretty good grasp on Japanese, mostly from Neji's teachings, I turned to him and said my first word. Or, well, words.

"What's a Shinobi?" I asked innocently. Obviously, he had already explained what it was before and I already knew the answer, but it was as good a start as any to finding out more about the ninja world I had so unexpectedly found myself in. Of course, Neji was overjoyed at my progress and explained in detail exactly what they were, what they did and how great a shinobi our father was. In listening to Neji's ramblings (something I could never picture older Neji doing) I actually learnt some things.

One thing was that our father was in fact in charge of the Branch family. There were load of different jobs within the Hyuuga clan and looking after the Branch family, which made up the majority of the Hyuuga was one of the most important jobs. Hiashi was in charge of everything overall, but it would seem that he had minions. I wasn't looking forward to being one of those minions. No one within the clan ever seemed to look happy; especially the minions.

Another thing I learnt was that children in Konoha seemed to go to the academy at 5 years old. That meant that Neji didn't have long until he was off to learn how to kill people and play with sharp objects. This was when I also realized how very wrong the existence of a hidden village was. To train up children from a young age to become soldiers and brainwash them into following the orders of their Kages no matter what. I entertained the idea of refusing to become a Shinobi, but I knew that coming from a Shinobi clan and one as prestigious as the Hyuuga, would mean that I really didn't have much choice in the matter.

Later that day Neji presented me to our father, informing him that I had said my first words. He nodded in approval and dismissed us. The little bit of praise had me buzzing. Maybe I wasn't so grown out of having my father's approval after all.

I first witnessed the power of the Byakugan when our father took us to witness a spar between two branch family members. We sat on the edge of the training field and watched them fight. They were smooth and skilled. I know my mouth was hanging opening in awe but… wow! It was as if they were dancing with each other; a practiced dance which would take hours to perfect, and they made it look effortless. Graceful was an understatement. I looked on with unrestrained envy. I turned to my father and asked in a quiet voice, "Can I do that someday?"

He looked down at me with a calculated expression. "No," he said flatly and to the point. I deflated instantly in disappointment.

_Why not? _I wanted to say. _Neji's going to be a genius. Can't I be too? _

As if hearing my words my father continued, "You do not possess the Byakugan." He looked at me with that same expression of mild interest he had displayed the first time I remembered meeting him.

I had never thought about whether I possessed the Byakugan or not; I had just assumed I did. It was a bit of a let-down and I felt a nasty feeling in my stomach at the idea of disappointing my father with my existence. _This must have been how Hinata felt all those years._ It turned out that I was the first member of the Hyuuga clan in five generations to be born without the Byakugan.

After the spar Neji and I rose to leave, bowed to our father, and waited to be dismissed. Hizashi remained seated and turned to Neji first. "Neji you will now begin to learn how to use your Byakugan. Arrive here every morning at six and I will begin your lessons." My brother looked absolutely thrilled at the idea, thanking our father several times. Hizashi looked uncomfortable at the display of emotion and quickly turned to address me.

He paused before he spoke, weighing up his words. "Being born without the Byakugan means you will have different responsibilities than your brother. But you are no less important." He paused again and looked off across the training field expressionlessly. "It cannot be considered a bad thing that you do not have our kekkei genkai."

He dismissed us after that and we left him sitting at the edge of the field by himself. When I glanced back at our father I witnessed that he had his hand pressed up to his forehead. I couldn't see his face but I entertained the idea that he had his eyes closed in silent regret.

Just less than a year after turning up in this universe I turned three years old. Nothing special happened really. I received a few trinkets from some of the household staff, and a china doll from Suki.

But it was special in some ways. That day my father came and ate breakfast with me and Neji, something he would do on occasion and said happy birthday to me. He gave me a china tea set, saying that because I was almost a lady that I must learn our clans ancient tea ceremonies. Now, I don't know about you, but in my first life I absolutely loved tea. I mean, it was to the point of a near unhealthy obsession which probably contributed to my eventual demise. Not only that, but a significant amount of little girls like to dress up as fairies and pour tea to their teddy bears. I was technically only three, even with the mental age of someone well into my 20s, but my next actions can only be attributed to the fact that my Daddy had just bought me a pink teapot. Without much thought to any decorum, which Suki had been desperately trying and failing to teach me, I leapt at my father and hugged him tightly around the neck.

He's a Shinobi, if he didn't want the hug than he should have dodged. I held on for barely three seconds, not wanting to push my luck and moved quickly to sit back at the table as if nothing had happened. I gave Hizashi sometime to compose himself and hummed happily to myself with an impish grin on my face. No one said much for the rest of the meal but when I looked up at Neji, I could tell he was highly amused.

"I am unaware of how you manage it," my brother had said with a small smile later that evening, "but I would bet you could get away with near enough anything. However, I do not gamble."

Neji had been having a hard time with Hizashi's training. He was a genius, of course, and so the physical side was hardly any issue. But Hizashi was instructing him more and more to suppress his feelings just like a proper Hyuuga should. Neji could do it, of course he could, but that meant a change from a playful Neji who didn't mind me spilling ink everywhere, to sterner Neji which would give me a dry, unforgiving look if I accidently spilt tea down his front. Which I did, several times trying to learn those stupid ceremonies. Then again, sometimes I did it on purpose to try and get a rise out of him, but he never took the bait.

Despite the inevitable change in personality which I had known was going to come for a while, Neji's present was the one I treasured most. He got me a white ribbon to tie around my hair to keep my black bangs out of my eyes. The thought was nice but I decided instead to use it as a hair tie and put my hair in a high ponytail, with shorter bits of hair framing my face. It worked for me quite nicely and no matter how much Suki had wanted to change it, I refused to let her touch my hair – lest I lose the precious ribbon.

In return, when Neji's birthday came around, I bought him a black ribbon so that he could tie his hair like he had done before in the series. He was a bit unsure about doing anything with his hair at first, but once I jumped onto his back and refused to let go no matter what he did, he relented and allowed me to play with it. I had missed his typical hair style and even though I knew he would do it himself eventually, I was happy to have influenced his look in a positive way. The long pony tail really did look good.

As more months past I began to realize that the date of Hinata's kidnapping was coming closer and closer. And with this thought I saw how insignificant I really was. How was a child, a _baby, _meant to stop a bunch of ninja from kidnapping the Hyuuga heir? It was not as if I could tell anyone about the situation without raising suspicion about myself. I could very well be dragged to the Torture and Interrogation unit to be investigated and given a lobotomy and… okay, maybe not, but it probably wouldn't be a good idea to go round telling people I can remember a past life and that to me they should all be fictional characters. Everything had seemed to work out in the end didn't it? There wasn't really much I could do anyway. Fate or something had already planned out this story and I was just here for the ride.

_But what about Neji and Hizashi? Don't they die?_

When this particular nasty thought crossed my mind, I almost started crying. I couldn't just sit back and do nothing when the people I cared about were in danger. Neji had already stopped just being some character in a story and was now my big brother. He was the one who tried to teach me how to read Kanji and told me the history of the Hyuuga and picked me up when I fell over. Sure, it had only been only been a year, one in which I could hardly even speak, but God dammit he was family. Hizashi as well. He was not a very good father but I believed his heart was in the right place. I wanted to save them.

_I will save them. I will learn how to be a great Shinobi and I will save them._

But really, I could never have saved Hizashi from what he would become.

Before the kidnapping happened something else big took place. Hinata's birthday followed hardly six months after mine and Neji and I were dressed appropriately for the occasion. Suki, our fake-mother, had told us that we were to meet our cousin for the first time and that Neji was to receive his special task as a branch member. I, of course, knew what this task was and something dawned on me in horror.

_The caged-bird seal._ I had completely forgotten about this particular part of being a branch member. Nobody talked about it, it was a taboo subject, but I should have realized sooner that with Hinata's third birthday came the day that Neji was branded for life.

I felt like crying. Again.

As we walked with our father to meet the main family I was subdued and quiet. Not that I wasn't usually like this around my father, it was just that this time it wasn't an act but a sad realization. I knew how much resentment came from the seal, but I also knew the necessity of it should another village get their hands on a Hyuuga's body and attempt to steal the Byakugan - which they somehow achieved anyway if I remembered the Kiri-nin, Ao, correctly.

My father's voice came to mind suddenly, _"It cannot be considered a bad thing that you do not have our kekkei genkai."_

I glanced at Hizashi and looking closely, seeing great regret in his eyes, just like I had imagined before on the training field. Unexpectedly I reached out and grabbed Neji's hand. He was shocked and a bit angry at the public display of affection without his consent but one look in my eyes told him not to question it. So he didn't.

We arrived at the centre of the Hyuuga compound and were introduced to Hinata, the clan heir, for the first time. She was very sweet and obviously very shy, as all she seemed to want to do was to hide behind her father. I had to refrain from 'awwing' out loud. But when I saw Hiashi I was almost bowled over by how similar he looked to Hizashi. Not just similar but identical in every way possible. They seemed to hold themselves in the same way and when they spoke even their voices were very alike. However, if you listened closely, there was more of a gentle edge to Hiashi if compared with his twin brother.

"We would like to wish little Hinata a very happy birthday," my father said formally with a respectful bow which both Neji and I followed dutifully. "We would like to present her with a gift. Nanami?" My father turned to me, his eyes gentle. Letting go of Neji's hand I stepped forward with the package I had helped choose earlier that week. I had insisted, respectfully, in accompanying my father to buy the tea pot which we were to give to Hinata. I had found out, as of late, that my father had a soft spot for me and if I knew how to play my cards, I could get away with a lot. That is, as long as I used the proper etiquette and was motivated enough to do it convincingly.

I handed the package to the blushing little girl with a smile. "I helped pick it out," I said happily, not at all fazed with having everybody's eyes on me as Hinata obviously was. What can I say? I was a bit of a showman. So sue me.

"She's pretty," Neji murmured kindly as I stepped back and stood next to him again.

"Thank you," Hinata whispered and gave me an unsure smile back. I naturally beamed in return; well aware that I probably shouldn't be showing so much emotion in the presence of so many emotionally constipated shinobi. But I couldn't help it, she was so cute.

"Hizashi," Hiashi said to his brother, the light hearted atmosphere suddenly turning heavy. "I think it is time that I take Neji under my wing."

The younger brother visibly stiffened. He bowed, none the less, in agreement and then turned to his son.

"Neji," Hizashi voice carried without any indication of emotion.

"Father," Neji bowed to his father and then followed Hiashi and the elders into the main compound. Hinata was led away by her mother; a beautiful women with a soft face and obviously very heavily pregnant. You could tell by the way she spoke that she was a gentle soul, much like Hinata would one day become.

_She will die as well,_ I thought solemnly.

With the entirety of the main house now gone from the court yard, the branch family members dispersed as well. The formalities were over and done with and so they could all now go and enjoy the festival being held in celebration of the peace treaty between Kuma and Konoha. The festival, finishing in a weeks' time, would end badly. The feeling of helplessness began to creep into my stomach once again and I needed reassurance, but Neji was not there.

Slowly I reached over to my father and tugged on his kimono gently. He looked down at me absentmindedly, but I could see the deep worry in his eyes.

"Will it hurt him?" I asked quietly. I looked back to where Neji had just left with deep regret. _I feel as if I have just let him ruin his whole life!_

Hizashi looked away from me, his eye also resting on the main house. "Yes," he said unflinchingly. I had to bite back a sarcastic comment about how reassuring he was. "Come." My father walked away turning his back on his first born. I didn't follow right away, my mind still on Neji and the injustice of the situation.

"Nanami, do not make me ask again," his voice was soft but firm. I nodded absentmindedly and left with my father, taking his hand. He looked down at me in surprise but didn't push me away. Like father, like son.

**Just to let you know; there will be romance (but who with I will not yet tell you), there will be drama, there will be character deaths and there will be lots of sarcastic comments and humorous remarks. I will try and update once a week if I am able. I look forward to hearing your views!**

**p.s. I thought I should give credit to some of the stories which have inspired me to write my own self-insert, such as Iryo-nin Kasa (****医療忍傘****) by Vaengir, Dreaming of Sunshine by Silver Queen and Catch Your Breath by Lang Noi. Please read them if you haven't already!**

_**AND JUST BECAUSE I LIKE PHYSICS AND THE CHAOS THEORY IS REALLY INTERESTING I THOUGHT YOU MIGHT LIKE TO KNOW:**_

_**Chaos theory studies the behaviour of dynamical systems that are highly sensitive to initial conditions—an effect which is popularly referred to as the butterfly effect. Small differences in initial conditions (such as those due to rounding errors in numerical computation) yield widely diverging outcomes for such dynamical systems, rendering long-term prediction impossible in general. – Wikipedia Chaos theory**_

_**Chaos: When the present determines the future, but the approximate present does not approximately determine the future**_


	2. Chapter 2

**Stamping on Butterflies**

Chapter Two

"_Pause you who read this, and think for a moment of the long chain of iron or gold, of thorns or flowers, that would never have bound you, but for the formation of the first link on one memorable day." ― Charles Dickens, Great Expectations_

_The saddest thing about Betrayal is that it never comes from your enemies. It comes from Friends and loved ones. - Unknown_

The following week wasn't as bad as it could have been, but that wasn't to say it was a bundle of fun either. As I was the same age and would be in the same academy year as Hinata, the clan thought that it was best for both me and her to start to learn to fight at the same time. I would be her sparring partner. Neji, however, would continue on his lessons with our father separately but observe Hinata and me train, watching over us silently. He now had the honour of being Hinata's protector, but with this honour was the price of the clans curse seal.

Neji hadn't returned until nightfall after we had left him in the care of the main house. I had stayed up late to wait for him to come back, but had failed to keep myself awake for long enough. I was curled up in a ball on his bed asleep, yet awoke when he lay down in the bed next to me silently and turned on his side to go to sleep. He didn't say a word, but the fact he didn't ask me to go back to my own room spoke volumes.

He and I had never shared a room, but I wouldn't deny the fact that I had, on a few occasions, snuck into his room and made him scoot over to make room for me. I guess if I had a mother in this world I would have sought comfort from her, but as it was I didn't and Neji was as good as I would get for reassurance. In the past year of being in this world I had begun to dream more and more about the past; my past. Not only this, but I had also dreamt, over and over again, what was supposed to play out in the Naruto-verse storyline.

One particular reoccurring dream was Neji's death. This was usually when I found myself crawling in bed next to Neji in the middle of the night, tears streaming down my face, looking for comfort. I mean, I had bawled my eyes out in my previous life the first time I saw it happen and that was when he was still a fictional character. But now he was no longer some character on some show; he was my brother. And God dammit if I was to ever let something like that happen to him again I wouldn't be a very good sister.

After that night Neji wore a bandage over his forehead. He let me see the seal once and only once, and that was the next day when I had woken to find him simply staring into the mirror on his dresser. He touched it absentmindedly and I had to remind myself that this was just a four year old child. He had to grow up so fast. For all Neji's loyalty and youth, he was still a genius and therefore, when I saw the dark look in his eye, I wasn't that surprised. He understood the significance of the curse seal and what it would mean for his future. He wasn't happy about it but he would live with it. Yet, if he was this unhappy about it now it was no wonder that in canon, by the time he was twelve, he was festering such deep hatred for his clan.

When he caught my eye, the rest of me still buried in the sheets of his bed and hidden under his pillow, his expression softened. He looked back to the mirror, placed the bandage on his forehead, and went to brutally dragging me from the warm cosy bed. I went kicking and screaming, of course, simply for the fun of the drama. But it made him smile, just a little bit, and that was worth the horse throat and the action of being physically dumped onto a cold, wooden floor. Just.

That day was the first time I realize how dam hard being a ninja was going to be. I was to train with Hiashi alongside Hinata and he started us with gentle exercises – I'm still convinced it was to lull us into a false sense of security. From then on it was jam-packed with Katas that caused your body to bend in unexpected ways and make you push yourself to the limit. It would seem, however, that I was much better at it than Hinata was. She frequently tripped and stumbled and was so unsure of herself I was convinced she would jump at her own shadow given the chance.

_Not going to marry a Nara then_, I thought sardonically.

But then again she was, just like myself; three. Quite frankly, this was an awfully large amount of pressure to put on a three year old. I mean, we both had a couple years until we were to join the academy anyway, and half the students would be civilians and would have no clue what a left foot kick even looked like. Okay, nor did I at this point either, but it was a fair assessment. Intelligence told me that Clan kids would be quick to pass through the academy, and yet if I remembered the series it would seem that none of the Rookie nine or Gai's team passed before they were twelve. Whereas someone like Kakashi was only five years old when he passed the graduation exam – which even for a shinobi village is a little excessive. I decided to voice my question to my uncle when we had settled down for lunch. Sitting next to Neji and accepting one of the pre-prepared bento boxes from him, I turned to the clan head.

"Hiashi-sama?" I questioned in my childish voice. He looked over to me with a gentle expression. It turned out that Hiashi was actually a very mild mannered man, with pressures on his head which he was reluctant to have. He was, in essence, what Hinata would be if she ever became clan head. This was a surprise and a half I'll tell you that!

My impression of Hiashi in the Naruto series was a harsh, abrasive person who didn't expect anything other than the best from everyone. Much like my father seemed to be. However, he was nothing of the sort. When I had gone to my first lesson with my Uncle I had witnessed in unrepentant astonishment how gentle he was with his daughter when she made a mistake, and reassuring he was when she looked frustrated. When he smiled down at his daughter lovingly my mouth actually hung open in amazement. Neji quickly closed it for me before anyone could see, and I schooled my features to polite interest.

_What changed to make Hiashi so cold? Was it Hinata's weakness… or something else?_

My brother's look clearly said that I was to not say a word about Hiashi's behaviour. My expression was equally as dry and Neji simply quirked an eyebrow in amusement. I almost stuck my tongue out at him but decided against it. He had recently started to pinch me every time I did something socially unacceptable.

"Yes Nanami?" Hiashi replied kindly.

"Why do some people pass the academy exam earlier than others?" Neji and Hinata looked at Hiashi in interest as well. It was a good question.

"Well…" he began, thinking as he took a bite of his lunch. It would seem that Hiashi enjoyed teaching very much. His back would stiffen and his tone would change into a professionally interested manner, just like a scholar might do. I thought, not for the first time, that Hizashi and Hiashi were born the wrong way round. Hiashi should have been the younger brother, and I would bet my life that he would have become an academy teacher or jonin-sensei in a heartbeat. "In times of war a ninja village requires more shinobi than usual to both perform missions and fight on the front lines. As you can imagine there are a considerable amount more casualties during a war and so, in these events, the academy graduation limits are significantly reduced. Otherwise, the graduation age in Konoha is twelve."

"But what if they were a genius like Neji?" I questioned in childish exuberance. Neji reached out and pinched me on the arm painfully. I swatted and glared at him as I rubbed my now-sore skin, and saw a small bit of colour rise subtly onto his otherwise expressionless face. _Aww he's embarrassed!_ I cooed in my head. _But wait, when did Neji grow any modesty?_

Hiashi just smiled at our antics and answered smoothly. "There are rare exceptions of course, when the child in question is a pure genius. Take Uchiha Itachi for example, he graduated last year at only seven."

The conversation continued on after that but I was hardly paying attention. As soon as I heard that name my mind went blank. Uchiha Itachi. Now there was a problem that I wouldn't be able to solve. How could I have forgotten such an integral part of the Naruto plot?! If that one event, if only the massacre wouldn't occur, so much could be different it would be beyond thinking about. The future may no longer be predicable, but that would just make me like everyone else anyway. And with the Uchiha clan still alive they could have a huge impact on the success of the hidden leaf village. The sharingan wasn't considered the most powerful dojutsu for nothing.

That evening I started a journal. I needed to organise my thoughts effectively and remember all the details from what I could remember of the show. It was a long time ago I had watched them and grew bored waiting for the next episode to come out, so I never saw the ending. But that hardly mattered, for if I could change things from the beginning then everything would end out alright… probably. All night I stayed up recording my memories into the leather bound book I had been given by Neji months ago. He said he had no need for such an object and that I could do with it whatever I wished.

It was tiring work and I only managed a third of the story before drifting off to sleep. Over the next week I managed to complete it and found a neat hiding place under a floorboard under my dresser. The hiding place was almost unnecessary though as I had written the whole book in English. Risky, I know, but I was going for the fact that, without a Rosetta stone to translate my childish scrawl, no one was going to know what it actually said. My journal was safe – for the time being.

The training was certainly effective and Hiashi introduced me to my own fighting style. See, although Hyuuga members without the Byakugan were rare, they weren't unheard of, and so previous generations with my 'disadvantage' had made a special alteration of the gentle fist to incorporate a bow staff instead of, well, fists. The staff I began to use was a simple bamboo stick, slightly taller than myself, but still hurt when you got hit over the head with it. Hiashi, for all his gentleness, told me not to hesitate when I went in for the hit. Nevertheless, having been brought up in my first life within a society which frown upon violence, it was slightly difficult to recondition myself to being okay with causing someone else pain. Especially a three year old, and one as sweet as Hinata.

But, in return for my insubordination, I was on the receiving end of Hinata's fist and had to make do with a swollen nose for the rest of the week. She may be three, but damn can that girl hit. So I learnt, pretty quickly, that this world was all about the philosophy of 'Kill or be killed.' I didn't want to die, and I wasn't the type to sit on the moral high ground for the sake of it. Self-righteous people annoyed me. So when I got over that little hiccup, I found that I was actually a natural with the staff. Not surprising, I suppose, considering that the one day Hyuuga genius was my brother.

Unfortunately the blisters were horrible. The more I used the staff the more raw my hands became. Hiashi reassured me that as time grew on I would grow calluses on my hands and the skin would become tough and strong. But, for this to happen, I had to go through night after night of bloody bandages which my brother very gently bound for me. He told me I was being brave and promised to buy me a pair of black leather, fingerless groves for my next birthday. The thought made me smile and after that I didn't so much mind the blisters.

Not only was I taught to use the bow staff but, in the true Hyuuga tradition, I began my education on the body's pressure points and weaknesses. Hinata had slightly different lessons to me as she required the Byakugan to find the body's tenketsu points, whereas I was taught how to disable muscles with a particularly skilful jab in the right place. It was harder than the bow staff and involved a lot of studying of the human anatomy, which I rather struggled with, but at the same time it expanded my Japanese vocabulary and made me a more coherent child. Although Neji didn't show it, I knew he was proud of my progress.

As my fighting skills grew so did my relationship with Hinata. I will not deny that I have a slightly overbearing personality and therefore would accidently drown her out in my ramblings and laughter; she didn't seem to mind and even seemed to find my antics entertaining. Once I figured that Hiashi didn't mind shows of emotion, it was a challenge I set myself every day to make her laugh. This would frequently receive a pinch from Neji for good measure as my attempts got more and more imaginative, but he couldn't deny the small smile that would grace his lips as he tried to hone in his own amusement. I liked making people laugh, it was a good feeling. Plus, this place needed all the good cheer it could get.

I found out from my father midweek, when he sat and ate with us for the first time in quite a while, that the only reason Hiashi had been so attentive with Hinata and me over the last few days and the days to come, was due to the peace treaty situation. Hiashi thought it best to keep the youngest, and therefore most vulnerable, of the clan together and under his watch while Kumo-nin were around.

_Wise move, _I thought cynically.

Four days into my training I witnessed my father and uncle spar for the first time. They were even more fluid than the two we had witnessed before, and made the other fight seem like child's plays. As I watched I noticed it was hard not to see the battle of wills raging between the two brothers. I had known that my father held great resentment to the main house, but I was also aware that Hiashi was a strong leader, despite his dislike for the responsibilities, and demanded respect on the deepest of levels. The battle was long, the brothers almost matching one another in skill. But near the end it was clear who the victor would be and my father left the fight with great wounded pride and a sore heart. Hiashi was kind but he wouldn't throw a fight simply to spare the other opponent. He was the better fighter and there was no use hiding it.

Hizashi came and sat between me and Neji on the mat within the dojo. Hiashi instructed me to study the new katas in the scrolls he had given me the previous day, while he demonstrated to Hinata hers. While I sat and read I felt a slither of killing intent ripple through the man next to me. I looked up at my father and saw his eyes flicker from the band on Neji's forehead to Hinata, and watched as his byakugan activated without his notice. The look was a dangerous mix of jealousy and bitterness. I felt nothing but pity for Hizashi in this moment. He had been second his whole entire like, cursed with the caged-bird seal which meant he could be controlled and put down. I felt my own resentment bubble in the pit of my stomach at the injustice of the situation for my father and brother. They were nothing more than slaves to their clan; not misplaced loyalty but forced subjugation. I hated the clan for their dojutsu and felt guilty for the fact I had escaped this fate undeservingly.

Before I could blink my father was on the floor, withering in pain; his hands clutching his head and his mouth open in a silent scream. Hizashi's byakugan was slowly receding and soon there were no more visible veins around his eyes. As quickly as it had started it was over and Hizashi lay panting in a heap at the feet of his elder brother. I could only stare with horror at the broken man. Neji was near to tears, his hand reaching out in front of him with a cry for his father on the tip of his lips.

"I hope you can learn Neji, unlike your father, where your loyalties lie." The tone was not cruel or mocking but gentle and full of deep regret. I understood where he was coming from, I really did. He was the head of the clan and would not tolerate disloyalty. He must treat all of his subordinates the same way, and as is the job of the branch family to protect the main, he must make sure this tradition is up held. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link.

And yet I hated him for it. I hated this stupid clan and its stupid rules and its stupid, stupidness. Mature, I know.

I felt like running away in this moment. They wouldn't kick up too much of a fuss after all, considering I didn't have the Byakugan. I could leave this pretend life behind and find the real world. I almost turned in on myself in self-pity in that moment, until I heard my uncle speak once more.

"I will not tolerate this again Hizashi." With these words he left the Dojo, beckoning for Hinata to follow, which she did, although hesitantly, as she glanced back at us with a silent apology.

In that one glance from Hinata all my anger evaporated. I was never very good at holding onto anger, and here I understood the situation far too well to be able to blame one single individual. I looked over to my brother who sat on his knees and had his head bowed to hide his emotions from the world. I knew what he was feeling; exactly the same as me. But he couldn't let that show for, like his father, it could be his undoing.

Father's eyes had followed his brothers retreating form until it was no longer visible. He was no longer on the floor but once again sat in a straight backed lotus position. His eyes shifted to Neji and caught his down turned head. When he caught sight of his son his expression went cold and I didn't like that look in his eyes; it was disappointment and detachment.

_Why would Hizashi be disappointed in Neji?_ To anyone who didn't know the boy as well as I did, they might mistake his down turned head for shame. _Hizashi must believe Neji is ashamed of him._

I wanted to desperately rectify the situation, yet it would seem the damage had already been done. Hizashi stood quickly and headed for the exit, not once glancing back at his children. Neji looked up in surprise but didn't utter a word, the endless lessons on manors Suki had drilled into his head preventing him from speaking to his father at a time like this.

I, however, had no such qualms. I jumped up, chasing after Hizashi with my little legs and grabbed onto his Kimono with my chubby fingers. He stopped, just like the other day, and looked down at me. This time there was no gentleness; only cold disdain.

I wanted to say something, anything, but the words got caught in my throat. He didn't give me time to recover and stepped away from me as if I was not even there. I let my fingers run through the silk of his clothes as he left.

Something had changed here today. I didn't know what it was, but I felt a cold foreboding crawl up my spin.

The end of the festivities was drawing near and I became more and more aware what that ending would mean. The night that the kidnapping happened I came and found Neji and slept next to him, hugging his arm tightly.

"Neji? Are you awake?" I asked stupidly.

"No," he replied in a muffled voice. He wasn't trying to be funny, Neji didn't have a sense of humour, but I laughed anyway at his attempt to get me to be quiet. I felt slightly hysterical at this point.

"I have a bad feeling about tonight," I whispered into the pitch black.

The day had been the same as any other. I had spent most of it training with Hiashi and Hinata. Hiashi had informed us that after today he would not be the one to train with us, and would only teach us here once a week, where he would witness us fight and monitor our progress. Neji and I had been expecting such an announcement, as we had known for a while that the training had been simply to keep an eye on us while the Shinobi from cloud were around. An understandable precaution that would not be needed once the Kuma-nin had left the village.

We accepted this easily enough and went back to training. However, my heart was not fully into it and I paid the price with a sore tail-bone when I had landed one too many times on my behind. I had a feeling that Hiashi wasn't paying attention much to our instructions either, and would have called it a day had he not needed to keep an eye on us. There was clearly something troubling him and I would have bet anything it was the incident with Hizashi.

After supper that evening Neji and I were instructed not to leave our rooms. I figured that, as it was clouds last night in Konoha, the clan probably suspected that if they were to try something then it would be tonight. I knew that only one person was in danger and that was Hinata. But I was three years old and could hardly hold my bow-staff without dropping it, let alone fight off the head ninja of cloud. And if I was to mention to someone that Hinata was in danger they wouldn't even take me seriously, and would probably tell me not to worry because everything was taken care of. Being a child again was rubbish.

Therefore, I found myself in Neji's bed, wide awake and terrified about the outcome of the night. I felt my brother shift next to me and turn to face me.

"You have nothing to worry about you don't even have the byakugan," he tried to reassure me but that was hardly the issue at hand here.

"But what about Hinata?!" I cried out in frustration. I could vent to Neji, he wouldn't mind. Probably.

Neji signed and looked at me in his dead serious expression. "Hinata is perfectly safe in her room surrounded by Branch family members whose jobs it is to protect her. She will be-"

Before he could finish his train of thought a loud commotion was heard in the courtyard leading to the main house. Neji's room was on the ground floor and his window was just around the corner from said courtyard. I jumped at the noise and scrambled out of bed, latching onto the window frame and pulling myself up to glance across the garden. I couldn't see any people but shadows dancing across the grass as members of the Hyuuga clan were in a frenzy of worry.

"Nana!" Neji whispered in shorted surprise, a delayed reaction if there had ever been one. I could tell how thrown off he was by both my actions and the noise outside, because of his use of my nickname instead of my full name. However, he didn't continue but instead got out of bed and stood next to me by the window. We were silent as we tried to gather snippets of information of what was going on outside.

"She was taken!"

"He killed him?"

"We must tell the Hokage immediately."

The conversations continued but we didn't have time to listen to any more as the door opened and our father stormed in. He looked slightly panicked when he didn't see Neji immediately in bed but relaxed when he saw the both of us standing by the window, relief obviously washing through him.

"Father what's happened?" Neji asked, worried. At this Hizashi took a step forward and grabbed Neji by the shoulders. Then I witnessed something I had never seen before as Hizashi bent down and gave Neji a kiss on his forehead. An ordinary gesture for a normal father, but Hizashi didn't do affection. Neji seemed to be even more shocked than I was and if he had any less control of his emotions his mouth would have been hanging open in astonishment of the situation. He repeated the gesture with me and then stood back to examine us both.

Neither of us dared say a word. His eyes were full of… regret? I didn't understand at first, my mind still reeling at the display of affection, when it dawned on me. He knew what would happen and he was ready to give his life for his brother. He may have had years of built up, valid, resentment towards his elder brother, but that didn't mean he didn't love him. They were brothers and I was sure that, no matter what, they would go to the ends of the earth for each other.

I couldn't help it. I started to cry. Not the childish wailing of a three year, but the quiet mourning of a child who was about to lose their father. Tears were streaming down my face, but I remained silent. I wanted to scream at the injustice of it all. I wanted to hug my father and tell him not to do it; that there had to be another way. I want to run away, faster and further than I had ever wanted to before, to simply just remove myself from such a hopeless situation. But I didn't. I just stood there and cried.

Hizashi held no scorn in his eyes for my tears. Instead he looked at me and gave a small, reassuring smile. His eyes glanced between his children, full of so much loss.

"I hope I have been a good father to you." He looked down and, although his expression did not change, I could almost feel the emotion welling up inside him. "Follow your duty children; for it is not a curse, but a privilege."

And he left.

I dropped to the floor and cried like I could never remember crying before. I don't think Neji understood what was happening, but at some point during my sobbing he must have moved me to the bed. I don't remember even falling asleep. I just cried at the whole damn situation and clung to my brother like he might disappear any second.

Neji and I were awoken early the next morning and informed of our father's death. It was a near heartless recollection of the news. We were informed that he had handed himself over to the Kuma-nin, in his brothers place, in revenge for their fallen leader that Hiashi had killed, and had fulfilled his duty to protect the clan head. We were told that we should be proud of his sacrifice.

It was Neji's turn to cry now. I had used up all my tears the previous night and now just felt numb and tired. I tried to comfort my brother but he wouldn't let me, lashing out in his grief and pushing me away with all his will. He needed to be angry at something, anything. I didn't mind being on the receiving end, for his emotions needed an outlet now, before he could supress the resentment deep within his heart. He wasn't like that for long and soon enough he was sitting on his bed, head bowed and breaths even. His face was the perfection of emotionlessness.

I knew I couldn't do much for him, apart from be there if he needed me. I needed him to know he was not alone. So I sat next to him, on the bed, and took one of his hands in mine. He held on to my hand like I had held onto him the previous night; as if I would disappear off the face of the earth if he let me out of his sight. His hand held so tightly onto mine that the whites of his knuckles were showing and my hand grew more and more painful from the pressure. His face remained blank of any feeling, but I knew it was there, and so held his hand just as tightly back.

I understood what my father had done. I would have done the same for Neji.

Nobody came to find us until lunch time. We were informed that there would be a memorial this evening in honour of our father's memory and that we should dress in our best clothing to attend. It seemed they wanted to get the whole situation over and done with, to forget the whole incident and be done with it. There was no body to prepare for a burial as the Kumo-nin had taken it when they left, and so a simple stone was erected in the courtyard to honour the second sons sacrifice. The Hyuuga clan could not show weakness in the loss of a comrade. The mourning would be quick and done with within the day, and that was that.

Neji and I stood hand in hand at the front of the crowd alongside Hiashi, Hinata and her mother. No one said anything. Hiashi didn't seem to want to, silently battling with his emotions. Both Neji and I were too young in the clan's eyes to say our piece, and so we remained silent as well. Everyone was very grave, but strangely enough, none more than Hinata's mother. She looked at the memorial with a pale complexion and a look that wanted to cry but held it in at all costs. She was quick to leave when the ceremony was over, giving her consolidations to us quickly and without making eye contact. Hinata followed behind her dutifully, but did manage to give me a small, sad smile. I appreciated it.

Neji did not engage with anyone that approached us, he simply nodded and ignored their questioning. I covered for him as effectively as I could but people would just give me an understanding smile and false, sympathetic words.

Most of those who had gathered to pay their respects had drifted off to get back to their duties. It was when there were few left to witness the encounter that Hiashi approached Neji and I to give us his regrets. I understood that he must have been in as much pain as we were, and so was prepared to offer comfort to the clan head. Before I drew my eye from the memorial stone to look at my uncle, however, Neji stepped in and addressed my Uncle first.

"Hiashi-sama," Neji said with respect.

"Neji and Nanami," Hiashi said in reply. His voice was grave and deep, so much unlike its usual, much more cheerful sound. Almost like a different person, and yet grief can do that to people. "I can only offer you my deepest regrets for your father's death."

"Don't worry Hiashi-sama," I said to the floor with a tragic smile. I looked up at him with kindness and an open heart. They may have been Hyuuga but the brothers were close, even if their relationship was slightly strained nearer the end. "We understand we…" The breath was knocked out of me like it had never been before.

I met the eyes of my father with unconcealed shock.

He looked at me expectantly until he saw my expression and comprehension seemed to dawn on his face. He seemed to realize I had recognised him. I didn't know how everyone else seemed to miss it, or maybe everyone else knew and it was simply to up keep the image of the clan, but the man in front of me was without a doubt Hyuuga Hizashi.

I swallowed and looked down again, overcome by emotion. They switched. They switched! This was beyond my comprehension. Neji finished the conversation with Hiashi and then quickly led me away from the courtyard, obviously concerned with my sudden muteness when I had been fine all afternoon. Before we rounded the corner I glanced back at my father and saw him looking at me with an odd expression. I couldn't pin point all the emotions playing across his face, this being one of the few times I had seen him this emotional, but the distinguishing one seemed to be fear. Fear of what, I couldn't say.

What I couldn't understand is why Neji hadn't noticed. He was so obviously our father and yet, no one else batted an eyelid at the fact a supposed dead man was walking around. I felt immense relief that he was alive, but at the same time also a deep sense of foreboding. What did this mean?

Obviously Hiashi had taken his rightful place as the one to die and Hizashi had taken over his brother's mantle. The death of a clan head with no immediate replacement was a huge problem in the shinobi world. Hinata was the heir but she would not be able to take her father's place until she was eighteen. The logical and most easy option would have been just for Hizashi to die in place of his brother, as horrible as that may be. But instead, in this crazy messed up world that seemed to have turned itself on its head, Hiashi had died and his younger brother was now the clan head.

If I was to guess, I would say that this situation would only be until Hinata came of age, but that was fourteen years away and Hizashi would have to pretend to be his brother for all that time. Talk about above and beyond the call of duty. Well, whatever was happening I had inadvertently allowed Hizashi to realize that I knew the clans new, dirty little secret, and I was sure that heads were going to roll. Metaphorical heads, of course.

All I wanted to know now was why they had swapped, and it wasn't long until I found out.

That evening I went to my own bed, realizing that both Neji and I needed some time alone with our thoughts after the horrors of the last few days. I put my night clothes on and took my white ribbon out of my hair, putting it on my dresser next to my hair brush. I just stood there in front of my mirror and studied myself. The black trousers of my pyjamas covered my bare feet and my hair now rested just past the base of my neck. My bright blue eyes contrasted with my straight jet black hair, giving me an almost exotic look. Before I'd had blond hair and brown eyes; I had liked my brown eyes.

My hand reached up to my face and brushed against my cheek absentmindedly. At the moment I had substantial amounts of baby fat, and I wondered idly what I would look like when my features sharpened. These mundane thoughts kept me distracted for a bit. I didn't want to think about today, it had been too difficult. I felt more emotionally drained than physically, my throat dry and my eyes heavy. I needed a rest, not only for the day but for all the stress that came with being a member of this clan. With this clan and probably any clan really, there were always such great expectations.

Great Expectations. The memory of a book I had once studied at school skirted across my mind and I gave a slightly hysterical giggle. Throw a broken heart into this whole mess, like in that god awful book they made us read, and I might have a psychotic breakdown.

It was sudden and unexpected with a sharp pain in my neck, exhaustion hit me with all of its might and I felt my body begin to fall downwards. I knew instantly that someone had manipulated one of my pressure points, but could do little about it. I couldn't concentrate enough to put out my hands to catch myself and so braced myself for a painful impact. It never came however, instead I felt warm arms circle around me and pick me up, cradling me against a chest. Before my eyelids closed shut I looked up to my saviour and, for the second time that day, looked straight into my father's eyes.

They were full of so much pain, all directed at me, that I wanted to reach out and smooth away all the crinkles in his face.

_You'll get worry lines, _I thought stupidly, before unconsciousness claimed me.

I don't know how long I was asleep for, but when I awoke I had a horrible pounding in my head and my body felt heavy and useless. Not only this, but a sharp tingling danced across the back of neck in painful bursts. With my eyes still closed I reached behind my head to try and soothe the pain, but as I lifted my arm I felt a hand close around my wrist and prevent the movement.

"You shouldn't touch it yet," a deep voice said.

I didn't recognise the voice at first due to the fogginess within my mind and the distracting pain at the top of my spine. Groggily, I opened my eyes and blinked until my vision was mostly clear and looked over to the owner of the voice. I wasn't surprised to see my father kneeling beside my bed, looking as if he hadn't got a wink of sleep in weeks. I looked towards the window and could just make out the beginnings of the predawn light trying to creep over the walls of the enclosure.

I swallowed thickly. My mind began to let me remember my last thoughts before I fell into unconsciousness and I once again closed my eyes, but this time in despair. I didn't want to open them, didn't want my father to confirm that he had done something unspeakable. I had been afraid of this happening, right from the moment I saw the fear in Hizashi's eyes when I had recognised him. I knew, but I had to ask anyway.

"What have you done?" My voice broke on the last word. I dared not open my eyes but I felt Hizashi let go of my wrist as if he'd been burnt.

"I had to do it," he whispered, his voice even more broken than mine.

"Why?" I stressed the words with all the will I could muster. I felt hot betrayal sting my eyes and I squeezed them even more tightly shut, afraid I might start crying.

"The elders…" Hizashi drifted off as if unable to find the right words. I opened my eyes and sat up suddenly and without warning; all the blood rushing to my head at once. I had to steady myself by placing my hand on the floor beside me. I saw my father reach out in concern but stopped himself when I flinched away from him. His expression was strained and he swallowed heavily at my reaction, but I was too angry to care.

"What have you done?" I put as much hurt and hatred into those words as I could. I closed my eyes again and felt hot tears race down my cheeks_. I don't want to know! I don't want to know!_

But I had to. I could already feel it taking hold of me and I reached to the back of my neck once again to quiet down the sting which was slowly getting worse. However, Hizashi stopped me yet again from touching it.

"I told you, you shouldn't touch it yet. You could disrupt the chakra at this point, and I would have to do it again," his voice was stronger this time, but no less regretful. I yanked my arm free from his grip and turned my body completely to face him. I tried to look him in the eye but he avoided eye contact with me. My father never avoided eye contact with anyone, and this told me just how bad the situation was. I just stared at him, waiting for him to continue. Eventually he collected himself, took a steadying breath and looked me in the eye.

"The elders mentioned that it was a possibility that either you or Neji would recognise me when no one else would. My brother and I were identical twins, and because of this we shared practically the same chakra signature. The difference in chakra was so small that no one could possibly tell the difference between us. It was virtually impossible. The only distinguishing feature ever between us was my curse seal…" His voice faltered on these words and he looked away from me as he continued. "It can happen with children and parents on rare occasions. The close bond of blood that they share can mean that they can distinguish even the tiniest fluctuation in the others chakra network. This can mean, for example, that if a child is under the influence of the subtlest genjutsu in the world, then the parent can still detect it, no matter what. In the case here, you could tell I was not my brother.

"There would have been little problem in Neji recognising me, for he has the curse seal and we would be able make sure he could not tell a soul. You, however, were not under that kind of control." He looked at me once again, his expression grave.

"…were," I repeated, picking up on the past tense immediately. "Meaning that now…" Tears escaped from my eyes at the realization and I put my head in my hands.

Hizashi didn't say a word. He didn't need to. I was simply now just another slave, another pawn for the clan to do as it pleased. I was always so grateful to not be born with the Byakugan and be faced with a life of servitude. Now, however, it seemed I had no choice. I would do whatever they asked of me, because I practically had no free will of my own. My father, my very own father, had given me the very thing that had caused so much pain and bitterness in his own life.

"What does it mean?" I asked quietly, my question near muffled by my hands. I didn't want to look at him. _I hate him!_

"It…" I could hear Hizashi's own fight to hold in his emotions. It sounds odd in his usually so steady voice. "You have, imprinted on the back of your neck, a variation of the caged-bird seal. It means that you will never be able to tell a soul about my identity. You, the council of elders, Hiashi's wife and the Hokage, are the only ones who know. If this knowledge was to get out, it could mean political repercussions beyond our control." I couldn't deal with this information right now. So I asked what I had been wondering all afternoon.

"I don't understand why you are..? You were going to your death; I saw it in your eyes."

"My brother refused to let me die for him. He wouldn't listen to reason. His word is law in our clan and he decided to give his own life. The fool!" The last words were spat venomously and I looked up to see him turning his head away. Underneath my hatred I felt pity well up inside me. The man sitting before me was still a slave to his destiny, and couldn't even find solace in choosing his own death. He had even been forbidden to save his own brother. That had been taken away from him as well. I looked away to give him some privacy with his own despair.

"And your own curse seal?" I asked in a gentler voice, yet no less biting.

"I can only tell you this because of your own curse seal. Anything I tell you in confidence you will be physically unable to communicate to another person, unless I give you permission to do otherwise. What I am about to tell you it is one of the most closely guarded secrets of the Hyuuga clan; there is a way to be rid of the seal." I breathed out a sign, expecting this answer. In those few words alone were the answers to the freedom of all past, present and future branch family members. It was a sickening thought.

We sat quietly for a few moments. And then the stinging in my neck began to increase ten fold and I couldn't help but let out a whimper at the pain. It was near blinding. I took deep, purposeful breaths. It was all I could do not to be sick and spill the contents of my stomach across my futon. I couldn't tell what was happening, all I could register was the pain, but I did recognise two big strong arms reach for me and hold me tightly. I wanted to push away, to scream at him to let go, but the pain was terrible and he was reassuring, and so I just cried into his kimono from the pain; both physical and emotional.

He was stroking my hair and whispering apologies over and over again. I had never thought that the ridiculously composed man could ever let himself go.

_Well it doesn't matter now,_ I thought with all the bitterness in the world,_ it's not like I can tell anyone._

My heart hurt at the harsh words I had thought. He was in just as much pain as I was.

After an immeasurable amount of time the pain abated and I pushed away from Hizashi. He let me go and stood up, looking down at me with an unreadable expression. I couldn't meet his eyes.

"I'm sorry," he muttered. I believed him, but that didn't make me hate him any less.

"No," I said in my grief ridden state, tired and drained. It was all too much and I just wanted to sleep. He waited for me to say more, and when I didn't he turned away from me and headed towards the door, his footsteps silent as a proper ninja's should be.

Yet, before he went I whispered into the darkness breathlessly, "You've taken away my freedom. I don't know if I'll ever be able to forgive you for this." With these words I lay back down and turned my back on my father, facing away from the door.

He left without another word.

I didn't cry after that, I just tried to drift off to sleep. They had taken everything from me. I would not give them anymore tears.

**This chapter was very emotional to write so I hope you have enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I have decided that I will try and stick as much as possible with the original ages and rules within the original Naruto as possible, but that if it is necessary then I will change some things to accommodate them to my story. But hey, that's what fanfiction is about. Don't worry though; it won't be anything to huge. Thank you for your feedback and I look forward to hearing more!**

**P.S. Just like to say a great big thank you to my Beta who painstakingly edited this chapter to make sure it made sense!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Stamping on Butterflies **

Chapter 3

"_If you're betrayed, release disappointment at once. By that way, the bitterness has no time to take root." ― Toba Beta, My Ancestor Was an Ancient Astronaut_

Over the next few weeks' things changed.

The first thing to change was my hairstyle. I could no longer wear it up in a ponytail as it exposed the back of my neck, revealing to the world my hidden curse mark. Hizashi had called me to his office, his _new_ office, and told me that no one could know about the curse seal and that I was forbidden to tell anyone. Of course, I had to obey. I felt the curse seal tighten in response to the command and knew that I would be unable to reveal it to anybody. So I had removed my white ribbon from my hair and tied it round my wrist.

It had seemed as if he had used up all his regret the previous night and was now back to his harsh, emotionless self. Yet, I believed that deep down he was relieved to share his burden with someone else. To have carried that alone would have been difficult, with the pressures of the council as well as keeping his identity quiet. But to have even just one of his children in his confidence was probably a big relief.

Resentment rose in me as I nodded my consent. "Yes Hyuuga-sama," I said stiffly.

His cold eyes sort me out and narrowed. He saw what I was doing and challenged it head on.

"You will refer to me as Hiashi-sama, just as you did your uncle," he told me stonily.

"No." I needed my rebellion, and more importantly than that I needed to see Hizashi as exactly who he was; my father. I was scared that if I followed the lie, I would start to believe it. Of course this was stupid and irrational but I needed some stability on a ground that seemed to be collapsing in around me. What I called him, unless it would reveal his actual identity, wasn't something he could control. I was challenging him, and he knew it.

"Leave," he directed to me, lowering his head back to his reading and continued to work as if I wasn't there. I allowed myself a small smile at the victory.

Later, when I thought about it, I think he needed that victory as well. He needed to be reminded who he was. Because I was the only one who was able to do that.

Neji dealt with our fathers 'death' how you would expect him to; with training and coldness. He never allowed anyone to get close to him emotionally again, and the only relationship he even attempted to maintain was mine and his. He loved me more than anything and wanted me to be the best I could be.

He didn't say it outright but I knew his thoughts; he couldn't bare the idea of losing me as well.

Neji was still Hinata's guardian but no longer did he have to be present as Hinata and I trained. Just as Hiashi had said; we gained a new instructor to take over our studies. He was quick to criticise and harsh in his methods, and this caused Hinata's confidence to very suddenly and painfully drop. I tried to reassure the girl that he didn't mean it, but I would be lying.

It would seem that our instructor was simply just another branch family member with resentment towards the main house. Hinata was the heir to the Hyuuga and therefore, in the eyes of our instructor, it was a valid idea to take it out on her. He probably didn't even realize he was doing it. I started to dumb myself down a bit to spare Hinata some of the torment, as he seemed to enjoy comparing our abilities. I was ahead of Hinata but not by much. As I was about half a year older than her it meant I was slightly ahead in physical strength and abilities. The tiny age gap would hardly have mattered, but at this age the difference was noticeable and so Sensei picked it apart.

I don't think it would have been so bad, however, if it was not Hizashi's reaction to Hinata's struggles. When Hizashi came to witness mine and Hinata's progress he found fault in us both, Hinata for her weakness and me for holding back. My father was an intelligent man and he realized the situation as it was; but he did nothing about it. When Hinata eventually went crying to her father to swap instructors because she couldn't keep up, he had told her to grow a back bone and deal with it. Obviously he said it in a much more eloquent way, but that was basically it.

So the tormenting of Hinata began; just as Hiashi theoretically would have done eventually if he were alive to follow the original time-line. However, I had a feeling that Hizashi wasn't as bad as Hiashi would have been.

_I suppose that something's have to stay the same,_ but this thought wasn't a comforting one.

Hinata, I began to learn, was truly a gentle soul. I suggested to her once that she might one day like to become a medical ninja, because of her kind heart. Unfortunately, she took this as a grave insult and said that if she were a medic then she could not be a respectful clan heir. She said that she was already weak in her soft heart and that she didn't need more reasons for her father to despise her.

This was a sad thought, for I knew that Hizashi did not hate her. But I understood, however, that he did not see her as his daughter. He had a duty to look after her for the sake of his position as clan head and also for his brother memory. But he could not love her as his own. Hinata could obviously see the lack of love, as one of the Hyuuga's greatest prides was being able to read people, but in her eyes she saw it as her father turning his back on her.

Then her mother died in childbirth. Hinata became more withdrawn and shy. After the traumatic event she began to stutter and avoid confrontation. I began to spend more time with her when I could, and because of this our bond grew stronger. But soon I began to notice that at every available moment she would hide in my shadow. I tried to push her to the front but she was always so reluctant and stammered when put on the spot. She stopped stammering when it was just me and her though, and I began to see more and more of who the girl behind the blushes really was.

But the moment there was another person she would hide once again. This was especially bad with Neji and Hizashi. They were the two people she looked up to most, and they seemed to be the ones to least accept her. In all honesty, I was the only one in the whole compound that seemed to be able to give her the time of day. I didn't understand why, at first, as she was the heir and therefore should be given the proper respect. But when I thought about it I realized that for the branch family members she represented their subjugations, and to the main family members she was weak, and weakness would not be tolerated. The death of her mother, her only other ally apart from me in this constricting place, caused emotional scars that even the Byuakugan couldn't see. So I did all I could for her and hoped it was enough.

Hizashi grieved as he should, playing the part perfectly, and then continuing back to his work. Well, almost completely back to his work. I watched quietly, from the side lines, as he handed over his niece to a wet nurse gently and reluctantly. He almost smiled, almost.

"What are you going to call her?" I had asked him quietly.

He looked down at me, surprised that I would willingly address him after months of obedient replies and rebellious silence. "Hanabi," he answered with gentleness in his eyes I rarely saw.

I believe that he found himself unable to love Hinata like a daughter because when he looked at her he saw the father he was not. He was not Hiashi and could never be that person for Hinata. So he pushed her away and told her to get on with it. She was three years old and could look after herself. After all, in a village where death was as common as a cold, the complete independence of a three year old was not unusual.

But Hanabi was a new child, and therefore she could be Hizashi's child. He could raise Hanabi up in memory of his brother, without his brother's memory tainting every encounter. I would witness in the coming years how Hizashi would dote on Hanabi.

Neji wasn't much of a help either. He was caught up in his own grieving and became even more harsh and reclusive than before. He would flinch away from public displays of affection and looked down on any weaknesses. Hinata wasn't by any means a cry baby, but everyone had their limit and, due to our Sensei, she was pushed right to the edge on several occasions. She endured, but that was not enough, and any respect that Neji had held for her before deteriorated quickly and without mercy with every tear she shed.

"But Neji, it's not fair!" I told him on one of our rare afternoons off. We were sitting in the garden underneath a cheery blossom tree. I was practicing my Kanji with ink and paper scattered everywhere, and Neji had a coverless book open in his lap.

"Life is not fair, Nanami. You should have learnt this by now," he sneered bitingly.

"And why must Hinata face the brunt of your bitterness!" I retorted. As soon as the words left my mouth I had regretted them. Neji closed the book with a snap and stood abruptly.

"Maybe you are too young to understand," he all but whispered. His hand reached to his forehead and his fingers brushed across the bandages. "Maybe you never will."

I opened my mouth to retort, saying that I did understand, more than he knew. But the words were lost in my throat as a strange sensation came over me and I was unable to remember how to form words. I felt my neck tingle and I cursed the heavens. He just looked down at me with unrestrained jealousy. I felt small and betrayed by that look.

He left me sitting there with my hands clenched in anger and my work forgotten.

Things were tense for a while between us after that. He no longer spent his free time with me, no matter how often I invited him. He worked hard but began to lose himself again. But I knew how much he was hurting underneath, and so every chance I got I imposed my presence upon him. He no longer allowed me into his room in the middle of the night when I got scared, and so I began to jump on his bed every morning to wake him up.

The first few times he had lashed out and I had a chance to practise my very underdeveloped dodging skills. When he knocked me down with a smirk and a superior look, I simply stuck out my tongue and brushed myself off. After that he began to get up before me to avoid the rude awakening. But then again, I always was an early riser and I would not allow him to beat me at my own game. So I began to get up even earlier to catch him out. We continued on with this silliness for a few weeks until we got to a point where we were getting up at ridiculous times in the morning to try and win the childish game.

Soon enough it turned into an all-night stake out which had eventually led to me getting bored and attempting to sneak into the kitchens for a midnight snack. Neji had, of course, followed me simply to try and dissuade me from breaking the rules. He didn't seem to mind too much when I shared my hot chocolate with him however. We were sitting in the kitchen when Cook walked in. He had also been looking for a midnight snack and was just as much caught in the act as we were.

At first he tried to tell us off for being out of bed and raiding the kitchens in the middle of the night. He said that he should go and wake up Hiashi-sama so we could get a good spanking. Neji began to apologise profusely, trying to drag me away with him. However, cook wasn't getting one over me.

"Look, I know you're not supposed to be here either," I said, calling his bluff. "So you wouldn't go and tell Hyuuga-sama on us because then you would get in trouble as well." Cook frowned crossly, knowing what I said was the truth. "And also…" I sniffed for dramatic affect and wiped my eyes as if angry I had been crying. I saw Cooks expression soften. _Hook._ "It has been almost a year…" Sniff. _Line_. "Since…" and I started to cry. I took a breath as if I was about to wail when I heard a shushing noise coming from Cook and felt a hand cover my mouth in panic.

"Hey don't cry, look I've got some extra chocolate in the pantry, my special collection. Would you like some?" _and SINKER!_

Neji had just stood there with his mouth wide open in abject horror, astonishment and, although he would never admit it, he was impressed.

Later on we both fell asleep on Neji's bed in the early hours of the morning, exhausted and sick from too much chocolate.

I think he enjoyed the childishness of it, but he would never admit it of course. When he bought me a pair of black leather, fingerless gloves for my fourth birthday I knew our relationship was saved, but Neji's heart was still closed and off limits to everyone else.

Time past quickly and before I knew it Neji had turned five and was sent off to the academy. I went to his induction ceremony by myself and sat at the back all alone. Hizashi had given me permission to attend without my even asking. He was as stoic as ever, but I knew he felt regret for not being able to come along as well and witness his son's entrance into the academy. None of the other Hyuuga's came with me either and I hadn't told Neji that I would be present. I watched as his name was called and he went up onto stage with the rest of his class and took a pledge to; love the village, train hard and remain of an able body and mind. The crowd cheered and I clapped along with them.

Afterwards I went to locate my brother in the crowd. It was easy as I was so small and so could dodge between the legs of everyone around me. I caught sight of him standing off to the side, leaning against a wall looking, well, cool.

_He will definitely be a heart breaker when he grows up_, I thought fondly.

"Neji!" I called out with a smile. Before he had time to register that it was me who had called his name I had tackled him with a running hug; laughing joyously as I did. He caught me and I even heard a little chuckle escape from his lips.

When he put me down I could see in his eyes just how grateful he was that I had been there to witness his admittance into the academy. Shortly after he was called in to begin his first day of school and I wished him luck and bid my farewell.

I had high hopes for Neji at school to somehow become more open once again and happy. It was wishful thinking. He was, obviously, top of his class in everything, but just enough not to be called a super-genius and to be allowed to graduate early. He was furious at this of course. He felt like he was being held back and that everyone else was just plain stupid.

I watched more and more as he was drawn deeper and deeper into despair. I thought he had grieved, but the more I looked I realized that he had just pushed the feelings underneath all the anger he could muster up. I had to do something, but I was completely at a loss.

So I did the only thing I could do; I went to see my father.

One evening I knocked on his door hesitantly and he bid me enter. When he looked up from his work his left eyebrow rose in silent enquiry as he saw me standing timidly in front of his desk. I had never before sort him out; our only interactions from the moment he place the curse seal on me had all been initiated by him, and that had been over a year ago.

"I am surprised to see you here," he said nonchalantly, but yet unable to hide the curiosity from his voice and the… hope? It was odd and unnerving and so I ignored it in favour of the matter at hand.

"It's about Neji." Immediately his demeanour changed to hard and unyielding. I knew before I asked what he would say.

"There is nothing I can do about his situation. He must overcome it in his own time." He when back to his work as if he considered the conversation done.

"But… He needs reassurance. His growing resentment is destroying his ability to make friends or to see the value in others passed how strong they are," I urged him. I took a step forward unconsciously and Hizashi followed the moment with practised eyes. He sat back in his chair and placed his hands together in front of him on the desk.

"What do you suppose that I can do? I am no longer his father, and as his uncle he will not accept any aid from me. No, he must deal with this without my help." His tone spoke of no argument.

"Why does this entire family think they have to do everything by themselves?" I cried desperately. It was as much out of frustration at my father as it was at pent up opinions I wasn't allowed to express. It was ironic; the only place where I could express how I truly felt was in front of the man who was forcing me to keep such terrible secrets from the rest of the world.

"I did not say that. I simply said that _I_ would not help him. There is nothing stopping _you_ from helping your brother." He tone was calculating and suspiciously flat. I studied him for a few moments before it dawned on me. He was testing me! Of course, he made a valid point. What could he do really? I knew this all along and yet I came to him anyway. The weight of both Neji's and Hinata's worries on my shoulders had built over the past year and it seemed it had reached a point in which I could no longer bare it without asking someone, anyone, for help. The only person I could ask was the one who I had been trying to avoid at all costs.

I saw something unrecognisable flicker in Hizashi's eyes and I felt as if we had passed a milestone. Apprehension settled in my bones.

"What do you suggest then?" I asked hesitantly. He studied me for a few more minutes before once again looking down at his desk and continuing to work. I knew I wouldn't get an answer and felt stupid for getting my hopes up. I was about to turn to leave when Hizashi spoke again, not even looking up from his work.

"Every Sunday afternoon you shall come here and I will begin to give you lessons in whatever I deem necessary." I was puzzled at first and stood where I was in confusion. However, I had picked up the obvious dismissal and, as soon as I had collected my wits, I left my father's study more perplexed than when I had entered.

I was no closer to helping Neji with his internal struggle and I seemed to have lost my Sunday afternoons to more training. Yay.

The following year was difficult. Hinata became more nervous and Neji became more, well, stuck up. I tried, but it didn't seem as if I had Naruto's special touch with changing people's hearts for the better. I had yet to see the blonde ball of energy around Konoha, but then again I knew that he was very young still and therefore in danger of being kidnapped for the extraction of the Kyuubi. Therefore, they would have been keeping a very close eye on him at this age. I didn't think much else on the future as, apart from Neji's death which would happen years in the future, nothing directly affected me. But I did keep up on my journal of the events that I could remember from the show from my previous life.

My previous life wasn't amazing nor was it particularly dull. It was normal. I missed everyone from there of course, but it couldn't be helped and there were more important things to worry about. I had a new family now that needed looking after. The one thing I did miss, however, was video games. They didn't exist in this world and for the life of me sometimes I just really wanted to play pacman or Call of Duty or even Sims Goddammit!

My training improved greatly and I got better and better with the bow staff. But that wasn't saying much. If you were to judge me by the standard of a Grade I would say that I was so bad I was upgradable. My instructor reassured me that I was actually well passed my level for my age group, but that wasn't reassuring considering how epic I knew my generation were going to be. But I preserved and grew stronger.

Hizashi spent every Sunday afternoon with me and we spent most of this time playing Shogi. Shogi was basically chess with a few variations, and if I was going to be honest with you I was never very good at chess. It wasn't so much the game that I struggled with, more my lack of motivation to complete it. I didn't see the point of such a boring game, therefore I got bored, and the other person won. Sucks right? But I was never very competitive and would rather just avoid the whole hassle.

At first, when I had grasped the concept of the game so quickly Hizashi almost seemed excited, as if I was going to turn out to be a genius. However, it seemed as if it was not meant to be. As it turned out in this world it wasn't due to motivation that I struggled to complete a game, but the fact I had such a short attention span. It got to a point where even I was annoyed at how I couldn't pay attention to the simple game for longer than ten minutes. I would start off really well, get distracted, and BAM I had lost.

Up until a certain point within a game I would do really well. But I would always lose. My father always told me that had I not lost concentration I would have beaten him. That was a big thing coming from my father as he was actually a very intelligent man and, unless up against a Nara, would beat most.

So apparently I was smart but had concentration issues. So sue me. I didn't count myself smart, however, for I was technically a grown woman within my own body and so had the intelligence of an adult. But I couldn't rightfully explain that to people, so I was just looked like a particularly bright child.

The year that both Hinata and I turned five we were sent to the academy. I expected something along the lines of what happened originally, with Kurenai coming along and taking Hinata under her wing. It seemed as if that was something specially reserved for when Hiashi was clan leader and thanked the heavens there wasn't a repeat.

The Sunday before we were to start at the academy I was sitting with Hizashi, on the decking outside the main house, playing Shogi. I was in a particularly absentminded mood that day and so Hizashi was having no luck teaching me about affective strategies. Halfway through a particularly difficult play the air suddenly grew thick and I could feel that my father was about to tell me something important. I was expecting something about family honour and upholding the family name, for I knew Hizashi had given exactly that lecture to Neji, but I was unfortunately wrong.

"Do you remember when I once told you that you would have different responsibilities than Neji within the clan, because you do not have our Kekkei-genkai?" he said gravely, eyes still on the Shogi board.

I nodded an affirmative. He looked up, his eyes fixed on me deadly serious.

"Tomorrow at your ceremony you shall find many eyes on yourself," he said gravely. "You are an anomaly within the Hyuuga clan and because of this the outside world will want to exploit this as they will see you as a weakness."

"I can deal with it," I said confidently. I think I knew when I was being used; I was not a naïve child.

"Nanami." This made my back straighten and set my teeth on edge. He never used my name unless it was really serious. "Within our clan we do not allow women who have the byakugan to marry outside of these walls. This is because they may birth a child who also has the Byakugan. If this were to happen then the child would be out of our reach, as the women would typically then be a part of the husband's family, and therefore there would be a great danger that the secrets of our clan's kekkei-genkai would fall into the wrong hands."

Once again I nodded in understanding, not seeing where this was going, or rather not wanting to believe it.

"I know you are young," he continued, "But I must warn you of this possibility now. Because you do not possess our dojutsu you will be allowed to marry outside of the clan, and I am sure that the elders will want to use you to their advantage to create a strong alliance with another clan. Do you understand?"

I breathed in, and then out almost excruciatingly slowly. Yes, I understood. "An arranged marriage," I muttered, my complexion paling at the idea. I had never been in love, not in my previous life or in this one, but like every girl I had always entertained the idea of marrying someone who I was in love with. I guess I should have expected this, but it was still a difficult blow.

"Yes, an arranged marriage." His eyes were soft and regretful. All along, even before I had the curse seal, I was stuck with a duty to the clan I had no control over and would have to undertake no matter what. It was only ever the illusion of freedom, but now that illusion had been taken away.

I gave another resigned sigh.

"Thank you for telling me," I said with sullenness in my voice.

"We have not officially announced to all the clans that we have a child within our mists which does not possess the Byakugan. It will be a shock considering as it hasn't happened in just under one hundred years. But considering the other children within your coming academy class you should not stick out to much. You should be spared the worst of it." I nodded and acknowledged his reassuring words, even if they did little to quiet my now racing heart.

_What was going to happen now?_ I wondered in distress. _Most of the clan heirs are in my year at school and therefore I am most likely to end up marrying one of them! _

I couldn't even begin to predict the repercussions of the situation.

The next day I tried to put thoughts of arranged marriages and the like to the back of my mind.

The whole ceremony was extremely exciting and I simply looked like a child looking forward to becoming a Shinobi. But I was ecstatic, not because I was going to learn how to be a ninja as I was already doing that with my clan training, but because I was going to see all the main characters of Naruto together for the first time. How cool was that!

Hinata and I were put in line with the other children and, just like the previous year with Neji's ceremony, our names were called out one by one. There were about 30 in our class, but I only knew those of the rookie 9. First out of the nine to be called up was "Aburame Shino" who looked just as you would expect; he had yet to acquire his dark glasses but I could see one or two kikaichu bugs crawling on his clothing. After Shino came "Akimichi Choji" and, quite honestly, I almost cried at how cute he was. His big chubby cheeks and typical bag of potato chips were all there, of course, and I promised myself I would try and make friends with the boy.

We soon got to the 'H's and "Haruno Sakura" walked onto stage. However, it wasn't with the high confidence I seemed to have recalled from the show, but with bangs hiding her forehead and unsure shuffles of her feet. Poor girl definitely had self-confidence issues. Before I could blink twice "Hyuuga Hinata" was called out and Hinata, in her shy-but-incredibly-endearing way stepped out of the line and took her place next to the others. Then it was my turn.

When "Hyuuga Nanami" was called out no one reacted apart from with the polite clapping that had been the same for everyone else up to this point. However, when I stepped out of the line and into place next to my cousin there was more murmuring than clapping. I tried not to react to it but I could feel the tiniest bit of colour rise in my cheeks. I had always been fine with attention, but this had been for the wrong reasons. As the next name on the list was read people turned away from me and looked to the next member of the class. This allowed me to calm down and I made my body relax.

"Inuzuka Kiba" was next and I am not ashamed to say I almost fangirled when I saw a puppy Akamaru sitting on Kiba's shoulder. Kiba had yet to get the tattoo's on his face that indicated that he was part of the nin-dog clan, but he still had his wild hair and pointy teeth to identify him as from that particular family. He practically strolled onto the stage. After that was "Nara Shikamaru" who was also just as expected. He slouched and had his hair up in the spikey ponytail, with an uneven hair line and a bored look on his face.

After them we had the two main characters themselves "Uchiha Sasuke" followed by "Uzumaki Naruto". Sasuke seemed more cheery than he had been in the series, but that was about the only difference. I suppose if you had had your entire clan annihilated by your brother then you probably would be a bit doom and gloom as well. Naruto was simply Naruto; energy, energy and energy on top of overbearing confidence and more energy. He didn't yet have the orange jumpsuit, but somehow he managed to wear a lot of orange anyway. And in the place of his ninja head band he wore a pair of mad-scientist googles. Somehow he pulled off this look rather effectively.

Lastly was "Yamanaka Ino" who was simply put; small, blond and beautiful. When she had joined us all on stage we were then instructed to say the oath. After this was complete the crowd cheered and, as the crowd was much larger than last year due to all the clan heirs, there was a lot of noise.

Afterwards the children ran to their parents or clans men in an excited hurry. I was no different. Neji was with Hizashi and, as Hinata went to present herself to her father, I went and forced Neji to give me a hug. He complied even if reluctantly.

"You will not come crying to me if you are beaten in a spar," he ordered. I sniggered at his serious tone.

"Of course I won't," I said rolling my eyes. "What if the spar is accidental though? If I get bullied you better sort them out!" I order back, just as serious.

Neji gave me a dry stare and I raised my eye brow in challenge. "The day you get bullied is the day that I am no longer top of the class. You will not get bullied."

"Are you… complimenting me?" I asked in mock astonishment.

"Certainly not," Neji said, with complete seriousness. I told you before; he didn't have a sense of humour. "You seem to be able to talk your way out of most difficult situations. If the person manages to land a hit, I think he should receive an award of some kind."

"Gee… thanks big brother," I muttered, unimpressed.

"Nanami, come here," Hizashi voice commanded. As an obedient child I walked over to my father and bowed respectively to him.

"Hyuuga-sama," I said in an obedient voice. Had I looked I would have been Hizashi's eye twitch in annoyance. All the Shogi games we had played and he still hadn't gotten me to call him Hiashi-sama in public. Nanami: one, Hizashi: Nil.

"These are Uchiha Fugaku the head of the Uchiha clan, and his wife Mikoto. They wanted to meet you," Hizashi spoke formally, but not without a significant look in my direction.

"It is a pleasure to meet you both," I said politely and gave a perfect straight backed bow to the Uchiha clan leaders.

"Our son is to be in your class. I hope you will become friends," Mikoto said kindly to me in an extremely condescending voice.

I reframed myself from snapping back with a sassy comment and instead went for "I look forward to meeting him." Accompanied with the most innocent, polite smile I could muster. Mikoto bought it like a kid in a candy store and I knew, were she a lesser woman, she would have reached out and grabbed my cheek. What can I say, I'm adorable.

They left after that, and I had to stop my smile evolving into a wicked grin. I looked to Hizashi, who had his usual blank face on, but I could tell he had been amused by my antics. But none the less he seemed pleased with my performance.

A number of other clan leaders approached us wanting to meet the infamous non-byakugan child, including the Aburame and the Inuzuka. Both clans had always had very strong relation with the Hyuuga and Hizashi treated them with the utmost respect. Kiba's mum was brilliant.

"Just a word of warning," said the untraditional clan leader. "You might want to prove this one's legitimacy before you start marrying her off."

"She is my late brother's child," he told her stoically.

"Fair enough. I just know I would be suspicious of a pretty thing like her, I can tell she's much more boisterous than most that come from your clan." She took a sniff of the air and smiled down at me, displaying her large canines. "No offense sweetie, I'm sure you'll one day be just as big a stick in the mud as your uncle here."

I grinned with unrestrained amusement. "Non-taken," I said genuinely. She laughed and patted me on the head before strolling off in search of her son. I could tell Hizashi was fuming at her nerve, and I was tempted to turn to my father and ask in an oh-so-innocent voice "What does illegitimate mean?". I didn't, of course, as I didn't have a death wish.

Hizashi later explained to me that Hiashi and Tsume used to be on the same genin team and this was one of the reasons that the Hyuuga and Inuzuka had such good ties.

"What was that about?" Neji asked with confusion and suspicion when people had stopped approaching

"Don't ask." I just shook my head, clear exasperation written across my features, "It doesn't matter anyway." Neji gave me a look that said he clearly didn't believe me, but dropped the subject none the less.

"You are both representing your clan in the academy. Behave as expected," Hizashi said briskly. Before Hinata or I could reply he had left. Hinata looked after him with a disappointed expression. She had confided in me that today maybe her father would recognize that she was going to be a great Shinobi. I had warned her not to get her hopes up but she had gone and done it anyway.

"Come on Hinata; let's start our first day of school." I gently guided her away from where Hizashi had been standing and we headed towards the main building. I waved goodbye to my brother and thus began our first day of school.

**Thank for all the feedback. I apologise for any spelling errors but they will be sorted out as quickly as possible. Thank you for all your lovely comments and I'm glad that a lot of you enjoyed the plot twist. Don't worry there will certainly be more of those later on! Who doesn't love an unexpected corner? There will be hints of romance as we go along but nothing really happens until Nana gets a bit older. All will be revealed in due course and I look forward to seeing what you think.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Stamping on Butterflies**

Chapter Four

"_I don't go looking for trouble. Trouble usually finds me." ― J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban_

First day of school was not what I expected; mostly because it involved me getting punched in the face.

After I had dragged Hinata inside we were directed to our new classroom to meet our fellow shinobi-in-training and the man who would be our sensei for the entirety of our academy education. Of course, I knew it was going to be Iruka-sensei, but nothing could prepare me for the 19 year-old man who stood at the front of the classroom with an extremely naive smile on his face. He was so obviously new at this job. I just hoped he didn't tell the class that he was a newly qualified teacher; because they would make his life hell.

"Good afternoon class, I will be your teacher. You may call me Iruka-sensei. You will be my very first class at the academy." Too late.

I could almost feel the excitement roll off of Naruto. I felt bad for the guy, I really did. He would come to learn the error of his ways in time, but right now all I could predict for him was a very bumpy ride. But then again it would explain a lot about the bond that Iruka and Naruto shared later on as they both grew into themselves as student and teacher.

So, after the customary introduction we started on the basics of being a Shinobi. It was incredibly boring. I sat next to Hinata as well as some other boy who I didn't know and who seemed too interested in the lecture to want to goof off with me anyway. So I had to sit still and listen, something I had never been very good at. For the clan kids in the room all of what he was saying was obvious; it was something we had all grown up knowing. But for the civilians it was the first step towards their goal, and so I didn't begrudge them for their existence.

As the lecture went on I began to contemplate how I wanted my academy years to play out. Chances were that all the academic stuff that we were to learn during our time at the academy was well within my capabilities to preform and outdo considering my actual mental age. In regards to the physical stuff I would be above average compared to the majority of the class, and that was only due to my special training with the Hyuuga. So I would easily be at the top of the class in a written exam, and although I would have competition from the other clan kids, I might even get to be top of the class if I continued to train really hard.

I weighed up the pros and cons of working hard and paying attention. Quite frankly I really couldn't be arsed. I mean, I would continue to train with my clan and my bow staff, which I loved and now considered my baby as far as one could consider an inanimate object their child, and would try my hardest to get better and better at that. But I knew, from what Neji had told me, that when we were to spar in class it was in hand to hand combat and therefore I wasn't allowed to use my staff. Annoying but unavoidable. Therefore, I decided that I would be average. Not the worse and not the best but just in the middle.

When lunch came around we were sent out into the courtyard to mingle. Now, I had yet to meet any other children apart from Neji and Hinata, and I would not consider either of them very normal because they were so… calm. I mean really calm I couldn't even get my head around it. Because it seemed that all the other children were really, really not calm. Everyone was screaming and shouting and bitching and oh-my-god I needed to find a quiet corner to sit down and avoid the little children who insisted on pulling my hair.

I had been looking forward to starting school because I thought it would be a change from the secluded, stoic atmosphere of the clan compound. Oh how wrong I was. I blamed Hinata and Neji for lulling me into a false sense of security about the personalities of young children. Don't get me wrong, I loved kids, but when you were stuck as a kid in the middle of a playground in the middle of a shinobi village, it was a bit much. I was technically an adult and my patience could only last so long. And then someone pulled my hair again.

"Hinata, I'm sorry I have no patience today," I told her honestly. "If I get my hair pulled one more time I'm going to hit someone." I shrugged slightly and smiled up at my cousin. She looked at me and I could tell she knew I was being serious about the possibility of hitting someone.

"Umm…" She was unsure what to do now and I knew that if I went and sat down she would follow me dutifully. If that happened I would feel bad for keeping her away from potential friends. I knew she was too shy to approach anyone by herself and so knew that I would have to help her, lest she rely on me for company for the rest of our academy lives.

"Right," I muttered. I looked around the courtyard for a victim to impose the quiet little girl on. When I saw Shino at the edge of the playground, looking at his feet with his hands in his pockets, and every now and again glancing at the group of children playing together, I knew I had found the perfect candidate. From my memories I understood that Shino was similar to Hinata in his disposition, and therefore probably just as shy.

I took Hinata's hand, for the second time that day, and began to drag her towards the Aburame. He didn't notice our approach at first but I wasn't disheartened and kept an open mind that, hopefully, Hinata could gain a lifelong friend.

"Nana, what are you doing?" Hinata asked with a worried voice. "I thought you wanted to go and sit down."

"Relax; I'm just going to help you make a new friend." I was a good person, I decided. I would help Hinata make a new friend and then go and sit in under a tree somewhere and sulk. As we approached him Shino looked up from his shoes curiously, and then seemed to straighten up as if preparing for a very difficult conversation.

"Hello!" I announced joyously. "You're Shino aren't you?"

"Yes, I am. And you are the Nanami, the Hyuuga without the Byakugan, and you are Hinata the Hyuuga clan heir." Shino was very matter of fact. Therefore, I just knew he wouldn't appreciate me pussy footing around the problem at hand and so I decided to dive straight in.

"First; it's Nana, not Nanami. Second; you're shy," I announced in the same tone he had addressed us.

He turned to me and I could see a calculating look, weighing up what I was in fact doing. His rely was simply "Yes."

"Well, I would like you to meet Hinata – I mean officially meet her and not just know her name. She is also very shy and calm, you're also very calm by the way, and I just thought that both of you would get on like a house on fire!" Both Hinata and Shino looked at me for a moment like I had lost my senses, then looked at each other. Hinata blushed the deepest red she could probably go and let out a very undignified squeak.

Shino seemed to pause, studied the little girl, and then said in a shy voice a very quiet "okay."

"Yay!" I yelled, taking Hinata's high pitched noise as an affirmative. I turned to my cousin, wished her luck, and left.

Okay, maybe not such a nice person, considering I had basically just pushed Hinata in the deep end of the pool and told her to sink or swim. But the same could be said for Shino, and therefore they would both be in the same boat… or maybe not in the same boat, if they're both swimming in the water- or sinking as the case may be.

I lost myself in thought for a moment, just one moment, and someone came over and pulled my hair. I was not joking when I said someone was going to get hit if my hair got pulled one more time. So I turned, fist ready, for I always came through on my word, and stopped dead when I saw who it was who had pulled my hair.

Naruto's big blue eyes were half closed in a flinch and I watched as he brought his hand up to his face to shield himself. I immediately felt guilt rise in my chest and lowered my hand with a small pout. Dam, I really needed to hit someone. Instead, I opted for a very calm and collected question. "Why did you pull my hair?"

Naruto looked at me in shock and lowered his hand from his face. Suddenly, the scared little boy turned to a child full of bravado and confidence. "Because you're going to play with me!" he announced to everyone in the vicinity.

_I take back what I thought earlier, I hate little kids._

"No," I told him simply and the little boy looked crestfallen. Naruto probably just wanted a friend but was going about the process of acquiring one in the wrong way. I had done my good deed for today in helping Hinata, and so would help Naruto tomorrow. Maybe. I looked around spotted a group of boys playing Ninja. "Go play with them."

"They don't want to play with me," murmured Naruto with a pout. "Why won't you play with me?" he demanded almost hesitantly. I looked at the child in front of me up and down. He was wearing an orange short sleeved top with shorts and open toe sandals. He had scruffy hair, bleeding knees and a snotty nose. In essence he was a normal little child who wanted a friend. Taking my silence as a bad sign he stepped away and crossed his arms; frowning at the floor and trying not to cry. My heart almost broke.

"Look I'll… I'll play with you." His face lit up like the fourth of July and I gave a hesitant smile. God, what had I gotten myself into? "But not right now."

"Why not right now? What's your name anyway? I'm Naruto Uzumaki and I'm going to be Hokage one day!" His demeanour changed so rapidly I almost got whiplash. I sighed to myself in regret. Why couldn't I have just told him to go away? Oh well, too late now.

"My names Nana and I don't want to play now because I'm tired and want to sit down, and if one more person pulls my hair I'm going to hit someone." As I said these words I had already began to walk away from Naruto. Unfortunately he seemed to take that as a hint to follow me, and I resigned myself to the company of the little blond tag along.

However, before I could find a nice place to sit and recuperate, a felt something painfully collide with the back of my head. I stumbled forward at the unexpected impact but Naruto caught me before I could lose my footing.

"Oh no," he whispered, worried. He stepped back and let go of me as if I had burnt him, and looked at me with fear as if he expected me to run. I gave him a questioning look as I rubbed the now forming bruise on the back of my head; tears stinging the corners of my eyes at the pain. _Ow, that really hurt. _

I looked around to find the perpetrator of the crime and witnessed the group of boys who had been playing ninja earlier now looking at us with smug expressions plastered on their faces.

"Okay, so those boys just threw a stone at me. Correct?" I asked Naruto. I pursed my lips in annoyance and narrowed my eyes.

"Well, they weren't aiming for you," he muttered bitterly. _Of course they weren't. They were aiming for you._

"Yeah, well they hit me, and they don't seem like they regret it. I should really go and tell them to shove off." _But I really can't be bothered. Do I have to?_ I glanced at Naruto and witnessed as his eyes were shinning in awe.

"You would stand up for me?" His voice was full of hope. Well there was my answer. This little boy had not yet found his own feet in the world; had not put his foot down to crying over being alone and dealing with it. At this moment, all he wanted was someone to care about him. I pinched the bridge of my nose as I began to feel a headache approaching at both the situation and the bruise on the back of my head.

"I'm going to regret this. I can tell." I was picking my fights poorly, I knew. It would be five against two, and I could tell they were all at least a year older than us. I would have to use all my skills available to try and bullshit my way out of this one. Oh joy.

I strolled over to the boys leisurely, taking my time sizing each of them up. They were the type with big muscles and no brains and would most likely end up as career Chunin on the field. None of them were clan kids fortunately, but that didn't mean they couldn't fight and do some damage. I stood just out of reaching distance from them and raised my eyebrow in question.

"You threw a rock at me." It wasn't a question.

"Why you hanging around with this loser?" the biggest boy in the middle sneered. _Obviously the ring leader,_ I summarized as I watched the other boys nod and grunt unintelligibly. They were children but that didn't mean they had to act like cave men.

"You mean Naruto? I can hang out with anyone I choose thank you very much." I used the most I'm-in-a-clan-and-you're-not voice I could muster, and this seemed to make them shrink back slightly. Even if they were civilians they still lived in the hidden leaf village and so had respect for clans and their members. However, I didn't have any obvious distinction that said I was a clan member and they quickly recovered from the knee jerk reaction to the breed authority I possessed as a Hyuuga.

"Who are you to talk so confidently to us? You're just a first year," the leader once again sneered at me.

I really didn't like the idea of name dropping and having everyone know I was a Hyuuga. I didn't have the Byakugan which tended to be the defining factor of my clan. Any academy student who realized I was a Hyuuga probably wouldn't even think it was odd that I had normal eyes and even might pity me for being the odd one out in my family. Therefore name dropping didn't do me any good and would probably bring up their expectations and cause them to overestimate me. In other words; not helpful. So no one really knew which family I belonged to because, let's face it, no one was paying attention at the ceremony to anyone else's name. The only ones who might even possibly know who I was were my class mates and most of them were clan heirs anyway and had their own problems to deal with.

"Who am I? I'm the person you just threw a rock at for no other reason other than because I was standing next to Uzumaki here." My voice grew more and more emotionless with each word. "Leave him alone if you know what's good for you." What was I saying? These were all threats that I definitely could not pull through with and I was just throwing them around willy-nilly. I felt like face palming but held it together remarkably well. My face was blank and my voice quiet, giving it a rather creepy edge. I watched doubt flicker in the leader's eyes.

Good, I could work with that. Even if it was my first day that didn't necessarily mean that I couldn't handle myself. Geniuses were more common than one would believe, especially when they had been specially conditioned by their clan. So I bluffed my heart out.

I paused and looked at the leader up and down with an unimpressed expression. I watched him tense and witnessed as his whole group reacted to their bosses body language with hesitant looks towards me. I turned around to leave, already bored with the confrontation, and wanting to make a dramatic exit. I knew if it went on any longer a fight would break out, and so attempted to cut it short. They really weren't worth my breath anyway, and Naruto seemed over the moon with my interference. I began to walk away, yet didn't completely turn my back as I wasn't stupid. But just as I had taken only two steps away the leader, with lightening quick speed, reached out to me with an ugly look on his face and grabbed onto my hair and pulled.

It was just reflex from then on. After all the training I had gone through over the past few years it was only natural for me to act out in violent way to a frustrating situation. I turned around, and with a raise fist I punched him square in the face. I felt his nose break under the pressure and a grim sense of satisfaction passed threw me. My hand ached from the hit but remained otherwise unscathed thanks to my leather gloves. I pulled back and shook my hand slightly, raising an eyebrow at the little boy with the bloody nose, and I couldn't stop the small smirk that escaped onto my mouth.

His group were looking at me in awe. Obviously he was a difficult opponent to face, and I had just smashed his face in. Unfortunately it didn't take long for the leader to recover and he came at me with full force. But due to the head injury I had given him he seemed more disorientated than before and I used this to my full advantage. I dodged to the left as he swung his fist and pushed Naruto out of the way as the older boy began to blindly lash out at everyone around him. I knew I had to end this fight soon for both the sake of my opponent and for the safety of the surrounding crowd.

It would seem that we had regretfully gathered the attention of the surrounding students and a chant of 'fight, fight' had broken out. I dodged another blind punch and looked around for the teachers. The chunin who were on duty were slowly making their way over to the crowd but seemed in no hurry to break up our fight. It would be easier for one of us to be knocked out first rather than having to completely break up the fight. Great. I knew he out matched me as I had never actually had any experience in a real fight -unless you counted Hinata, and she obviously never gave it her all. In hand to hand combat he'd beat me no question.

I knew what I had to do if I wanted to remain conscious for the rest of the day but was apprehensive to do so. I had only ever studied up on the pressure points of the human body and theory didn't always work in practise. But it was my only choice.

However, the first time a tried to get behind him I misjudged his speed and was too slow to react. This resulted in me getting hit in the face. He was surely aiming for my nose in return for me breaking his, but his aim wasn't quite accurate and he ended up punching me in the eye. My vision blurred and I was knocked back, but not off of my feet. I hissed at the pain and shook my head to rid it of the shock. In the moment of victory my opponent lost his concentration slightly, obviously believing me to be out of the fight with such a hard hit, and he straightened with a wicked grin.

I used this moment of inattention to deliver my final blow. The pressure point in the neck was the most affective and easily reachable in my position -minus kicking him really, really hard in the genitals. So I launched myself at my opponent and silently pushed my index and my middle finger into his neck. He collapsed like a tonne of bricks.

I stood over his body panting and felt the adrenalin running through my blood. The crowd was silent, and then suddenly they were cheering and whistling. I got a few pats on the back but ignored them in favour of catching my breath.

"Alright everyone back to your lunches. There's nothing to see here," one of the Chunin instructors announced to the group of gathered children. The crowd began to disperse and the teachers approached me and the bleeding boy on the floor. As the excitement from the fight left me I began to feel the pain in my eye more intensely. I blinked a few times but this just caused a sharp pain to shot through my head.

"Mother fu-" I began to say but received a clip around the ears for my effort. I looked up and saw a disapproving look of one of the teachers. The other had the young boy in his arms and was obviously carrying him to the school medic.

"It was a good fight, but let's not ruin it with foul language. Not many first years can say they took on another student in the year above on their first day," the chunin smiled at me with a raised eyebrow. He then patted me on the head and chuckled. "You seem to be able to sort out yourself and your injury's aren't life threatening. Just don't pick any more fights today."

When the chunin had left I looked around. The only ones in the near vicinity were Naruto and I as it seemed that everyone else had lost interest very quickly and had returned to their games. Even the group of boys who had started the fight were now off playing ninja in the far corner of the courtyard. Talk about attention span of a teaspoon.

I looked over to the little blond boy and found the look of complete devotion spread across his face and directed at me.

"You know," I said offhandedly as I began to walk away from him and poked my eye gently a few times to assess the damage. "When I judged the odds of that fight I counted you in there as well." I sounded exasperated to the point of near exhaustion, and yet all the irritation from earlier seemed to have vanished and I now felt ready for anything.

"I... I mean…" Naruto didn't know what to say. He looked lost.

"What _I_ mean is that you better not expect me to fight any of your battles for you. That was because they threw a stone at my head. You're big enough and ugly enough to sort yourself out," I said in a disinterested voice. When I glanced at Naruto he had a smile on his face and a hand on his head as he ruffled his own hair.

"Of course," Naruto laughed. We had come to an understanding; I was happy to be his friend despite what people said and he wouldn't rely on me for help and guidance. He needed to figure all that stuff out on his own if he was ever to become Konoha's number one more unpredictable ninja. We spent the rest of lunch sitting at the back of the school as I clutched my aching head and half listened to Naruto's ramblings. It was nice.

People avoided picking on Naruto after that fight. It seemed by the end of the day rumours were heading around the school, getting more and more outlandish and ridiculous. One was that I had killed the boy who had given me the black eye; another was that the teacher had to take me away kicking and screaming as I tried to claw off his face. I fuelled these rumours, of course, making myself seem out of my mind crazy. Not surprisingly I very quickly earned myself a reputation to simply be left alone, and by extension Naruto. This suited me very well.

After class Hinata and I met Neji at the front of the school to walk home together. When he spotted me his look darkened and he stormed towards us angrily. When he was close enough he grabbed my chin painfully and moved my head into a better position to scrutinize my injury. He wasn't happy.

"When I said that you would not get bullied that wasn't a challenge to go and find someone to fulfil that role! What were you thinking?" he snarled at me, still gripping my chin tightly and inspecting my eye.

"I don't suppose the excuse he started it would work here?" I mumbled; my cheeks lightly coloured pink at his scolding.

"No, it would not." He dropped his hand and narrowed his eyes disapprovingly. "You look terrible."

I grinned, reached up and slung my arm around Neji's shoulder. "You should see the other guy."

"I have no doubt," he muttered more to himself than to me.

"Ahh, so you've heard the rumours?" I gave him a wicked smile and began to tell him the actual story.

While I talked Hinata stayed quiet, with her head down and her complexion pale. When I had first walked into the classroom at the end of lunch Hinata had run up to me in excitement and told me in a hurried voice that she was now friends with Shino. Her smile, however, quickly faded when she saw my very shiny black eye. She muttered and stumbled over her words, frantic and shaking in worry for me. It was clear she blamed herself for ever leaving my side. I reassured her that I really didn't mind and that it was just one of those things. She didn't seem to see it that way.

Later, when we got home, Hinata and I went to the dojo to do our daily practice and spar. Hinata was much more reluctant to fight me than usual and I managed to knock her down a number of times that evening. When we both lay exhausted on the floor at the end of our session, Hizashi came in. We stood up immediately and bowed low to our clan leader.

At first he addressed Hinata, asking about her day at the academy and her observations of the other clan heirs. My cousin gave her answer with stutters, looking down in shame every time she stumbled over a word.

"But you made a friend," I injected quietly. Hizashi pretended he hadn't heard me but Hinata nodded enthusiastically at my words.

"Aburame Shino. He is my friend," Hinata smiled up at her father shyly, and I watched sadly as all Hizashi could manage was a stiff nod. Hinata's eyes glistened with tears, but she was used to such responses from her father and effectively held onto an emotionless mask. Hizashi dismissed Hinata and then turned to me, eyeing my bruised face critically. I pursed my lips and blinked a few times but continued staring straight ahead as if I didn't notice my father's scrutiny.

He then, in a very emotionless voice, asked "What happened?"

I couldn't help it; I smiled impishly. I looked down at my feet and tried to supress a giggle. "I, err… got into a fight."

He signed in obvious frustration, "Did you win?"

I allowed myself to full out grin and looked up at my father. He was humouring me, I could tell, but he hid it very well. "Of course," I said with mock outrage that he would even ask such a question.

He coughed lightly to hide his amusement. "Good," he said in a very straight forward, all business voice, and with that he walked away.

I found out soon enough that fights were actually a very common thing on the school playground. For that week I managed to avoid getting involved in anymore and people just tended to leave me alone.

I also found that I had two little followers. Naruto and Hinata practically refused to leave my side, and in addition to this I thought it prudent to invite Shino into our little circle of friends. He gave a curt nod and it became the four of us. All the time.

It turned out that Hinata, given the right stimulation, could very easily become a normal five year old child with all the energy and immaturity that came with it. It seemed that I was not the only one that found the clan compound repressing and dull.

Naruto, unsurprisingly, got bored with my company pretty quickly as I refused to do much more than sit and read in my free time. I tended to read anything I could get my hands on; whether that was local fairy tales or clan history or even this one particularly dull book on the anatomy of river trout. I just liked to read, and although I didn't take in half of what I was looking at as I still hadn't completely got the hang of written Japanese, I was convinced that all the information was sitting somewhere in my psyche. Not only that, but I had found that people are much less likely to approach you if you look like you are intensely involved in a book.

I have to admit that I was being slightly anti-social. But, being stuck as an adult in a child's body got very old very fast as soon as I started school. When Naruto got bored of annoying me he would go and play with Hinata and Shino. Shino was reluctant to play with Naruto due to the blond haired boy's abrasive personality and slightly inconsiderate attitude. This also caused Hinata to be shy and nervous around Naruto, but I had my suspicions that this was also the beginnings of Hinata's diehard crush.

Either way, not my problem and I just ignored them in favour of peace and quiet. I did feel slightly out of place though, and felt like I needed to find some friends that didn't mind my overly careless attitude.

Around midweek was when I made friends with Ino. She wasn't to be my best friend, but at least I felt less anti-social. I was sitting very quietly alone on a table at the back of the classroom. Naruto had been in trouble and so the usual place he seemed to have claimed next to mine was vacant, and Hinata and Shino were sitting together on the other side of the room. That was, until a blond little girl came and occupied it. She looked at me, very seriously, and studied my appearance. It was the break before last lesson and I really didn't care enough to ask her what she wanted, so I waited for her to speak.

"You should wear your hair up," Ino said in a bossy voice.

"Oh, no I'm alright. I don't like it up," I told her off the top of my head.

"Oh," she looked disappointed, not sure what to make of her rejected advice. I could tell she meant well in her guidance and felt bad for being dishonest. "Well, why not?"

"I don't like my neck." It wasn't a lie, per say, as in all honesty I wore it down so that no one could see my neck as I guess you could say I was self-conscious of it. Yeah I know I was clutching at straws, but I didn't like the idea of lying to this very sincere little girl.

"Well wear it half up half down then. Here," and she reached over the table and took my white ribbon from my wrist.

"Hey!" I called in surprise, but she ignored my exclamation in favour of my shiny, black locks. I was interested with what she would do, and so let her play with my hair, but was prepared to snatch it back from her should she venture to lift up my hair and reveal my curse mark, but that wasn't what she had in mind. Instead, she grabbed the top half and put it into an improvised bunch. I still had my bangs framing my face, but this way my hair felt lighter.

When she was done I glanced at my reflection in the window and felt a small smile grace my lips. I didn't realize that there was something missing, but whatever Ino had done, it seemed to have found its way back. I had never let my hair get long and had attempted to keep it just below shoulder length, but having my hair up again, even partly, made me feel better. It was funny how hair could be such a defining feature for a person, but sometimes it could make all the difference in the world. I felt like me again.

"Wow…" I whispered to myself. I grinned widely and looked at her in appreciation. "Your right, it does look better! Thanks Ino." She sat there looking smug, and so was unprepared when I launched myself at her and lifted her in a big bear hug.

She yelled in surprise but it quickly turned to a laugh when she realized what I was doing. "You're welcome," she giggled happily. That was the start of a very nice friendship, but Ino was far too popular and me far too indifferent and eccentric for us to be best friends. Besides, I didn't want to take Ino away from the little pink haired girl in the corner who kept getting picked on about her forehead. But if I was going to be honest; it was pretty big.

At the end of the week I approached Iruka-sensei wearily. Naruto's loneliness problem needed to be nipped in the bud sooner rather than later and, although I had already figured out that Naruto needed to be shunned by the village in his childhood for him to turn into the awesome shinobi he would one day become, that didn't mean he couldn't have a little bit of love from a caring source.

Also, I just couldn't stand the idea that I was Naruto's best friend in the world. Because, let be honest, I just wanted to sit and read during school hours. Not really the ideal friend for Naruto to have as he needed constant stimulation, and it seemed that no matter how often I told him to shut up he just couldn't take the hint. Ever.

"Iruka-sensei?" I asked quietly in a shy, reserved voice. We were now alone in the room as I had waited for everyone to leave and told Hinata that I would be out in five minutes.

"Yes Nanami?" he looked up from his paper with a questioning look. When he spotted my fading black-eye he frowned and looked at me with understanding. "Yes, I heard about your antics on the first day. I was advised not to address you about the issue but I'm glad that you have come and seem me on your own accord. The boy in question has been talked to and he won't antagonise you again. I am to congratulate you on winning the fight but would advise you not to start anymore. If you want to talk about anything I'm always here to help." He seemed pleased with his answer and went back to work. I almost laughed. The academy's view on bullying was; if you get bullied you're not strong enough so get stronger and bully them back. Nice idea, but I felt very sorry for those at the bottom of the social food chain.

"Err… Iruka-sensei?" I muttered again as I allowed nervousness into my voice.

"Yes, what is it? Was there something else?" He put down his pen and studied me intensely with a very serious expression. Had I actually been a young child I probably would have squeaked and ran away from the intimidating look. As it was, I pretended I didn't notice.

"Well, you see, I'm really worried-" I started but was cut off immediately.

"I told you-"

"About Naruto," I finished in barely a whisper. Iruka gave me a strange look.

"What about Naruto?" He was hesitant now, I could tell.

"Well… the boy that punched me he, well the reason he punched me was because… because-I-was-sticking-up-for-Naruto!" I closed my eyes and flinched, as if to say such a thing was the most horrible thing on the planet. Okay, I was playing him like a piano, but I needed this issue sorted out sooner rather than later. Naruto was so annoying and I would eventually end up punching him. When I opened my eyes again I saw Iruka-sensei looking off into the distance with a pale face and a gaping mouth.

I continued on, hoping to catch him out in his moment of unease. "It's just; I know that people don't like Naruto. He is really annoying and he doesn't have any friends but he's not that bad that someone should want to punch him" –unless you spent a lot of time with the boy and you just want wanted some peace and quiet- "and it was an unfair fight because there were only two of us and there were a lot of them and-" breath "-I didn't know who to turn to because Naruto is obviously unhappy but no one can see that and it's not fair because he doesn't have any parents and lives alone and I just don't know what to do because-" He cut me off with a hand held in front of him.

"That enough, I see your point. I will talk to Naruto and see what can be done," he said distractedly, with a concerned and guilty look on his face.

My work was done.

**Hey Guys… so I never actually originally planned for Naruto to be involved in this story much at all. But somehow he just found himself in here. I reckoned that if Nana and Naruto ever crossed paths Nana would probably want to be his friend and help him on some level. Don't worry it's not going to be a big plot thing! I'm trying to avoid the Marry-Sue of the OC coming in and saving Naruto from a crap childhood. Nanami's a big realist if you haven't already found out! So the first week of the academy; I hope you enjoyed my take on it! The response on the idea of an arranged marriage was brilliant and I can't wait for you guys to find out, but that won't be for a while yet. Lastly, I should warn you that this chapter has yet to be Beta'd so I am again sorry but it will be completed as soon as possible. Thank you for bearing with me and my grammatical errors! Let me know what you think :D**


	5. Chapter 5

**Stamping on Butterflies**

Chapter Four

"_Good friends, good books, and a sleepy conscience: this is the ideal life."― Mark Twain_

That weekend I decided that I was going to have a go at being a child. After training in the morning we had free time for the rest of the day and so I went and joined in with some kids on the street who were playing ninja. I asked Neji if he wanted to come but he didn't even dignify me with an answer and instead I received a pinch on the arm for asking stupid questions. The kids on the street were more than happy to let me join in, as most had already forgotten about the fight at the beginning of the week, and those that remembered just thought it was cool. It turned out that it was actually quite a fun game and before I knew it I was running through the street and hiding in waste bins.

I didn't have Hinata and Naruto on my tail for once as Hinata had been invited over Shino's that afternoon and Naruto was with the Hokage. So I was free! Okay, maybe a bit of an exaggeration, but not having little shadows was a huge relief. I noticed that a few of my class mates were also involved with the game such as Choji and Shikamaru, but I didn't interact with them as the game involved a lot of running and hiding away from the other players.

I managed to avoid getting caught apart from once, however, when I helped Choji hide up a tree with me. He was on my team and there was no danger in lending him a hand. Unfortunately he wasn't very subtle and managed to fallout of the tree and we got caught. He tried to apologise to me as we sat on the dirt tied up but I just waved him off. Metaphorically, of course.

"It really doesn't matter Choji it's just a game," I tried to reassure him. "How's your bum? It looked like it was a heavy landing?"

Choji blushed bright red and stuttered that it was fine.

"I'm Nana by the way."

"I'm Choji. It's nice to meet you," he said politely but hesitantly.

"Yes it's nice to meet you to, but it would have been more preferable to have met under more comfortable circumstances," I mused out loud. "Especially in a position where I could feel my legs." The boys who had tied us up obviously didn't know what they were doing and my blood circulation was paying the price.

Choji giggled at my comment and I grinned.

Later on, when I heard the snide remarks made about Choji behind his back about that fact that he was making us lose, I was angry and defended the little boy. I told them to leave him be because he had as much right to play as everybody else did, and they immediately shut up. Having a violent reputation was good fun.

Eventually I decided to call it a day. I wanted to find somewhere quiet to sit and read for the rest of the afternoon. So I waited until they regrouped again and let them know that I would no longer be involved. They let me go without fuss as with my leaving the teams would be even. Before I left I went and said goodbye to Choji and told him I would see him around school, and he waved me off happily enough. I was itching to open the book on shogi strategy I had found in the clan library and so was over the moon when I discovered a little hidey whole against the back of a ramen stand. So I sat down and crossed my legs and rested my book on my lap.

It was private and quiet and I lost myself reading for a good half an hour. That was, until the ramen stand owner saw me and chased me off shouting and mumbling about "dammed kids and their messing with my ramen." So I went to look for another place to just chill out. However, such places within a Ninja village apparently are more difficult to find than one would expect due to ninja paranoia and therefore their hate of anywhere that an enemy could hide in the shadows.

This resulted in me attempting to walk and read, and failing miserably. I walked into quite a few people and bashed my head against a sign post within the first 10 minutes. It not long after this, in the middle of one of these wonderings, that I heard my name being called. At exactly the same moment as I heard my name I bashed straight into a wall, dropped my book and fell to the floor in a daze.

"Oh wow, are you alright?" asked a kind voice from above me.

"She really shouldn't have been walking with that book," said another voice. I felt to pairs of arms reach under my armpits and pull me to a standing position. They then guided me to a seat and I promptly fell onto the bench as soon as I was able.

I shook my head a few times and looked up to thank my saviours and came face to face with Choji. "Oh hey," I said with a smile.

"Hey yourself," said the boy standing next to Choji. Shikamaru frowned at me with a raised eyebrow and then said, in a very board voice, "You're sitting in my seat."

I looked down to the left and right nodding. "And a very nice seat it is to." I grinned up to the Nara genius and the boy sighed in frustration. He went round me and sat down on my right; then lay down and ignored me in favour of the clouds. _Fair enough._

"Here's your book Nana," Choji injected, sparing a glance at the irritated Shikamaru and handing me my book.

"Thanks Choji," I smiled at the Akamichi and he blushed and mumbled in embarrassment.

"Choji?" asked a deep voice next to me. I looked to my left and marvelled at the fact that Akamichi Choza had been sitting there for, probably, the whole time and I hadn't noticed. I was going to blame that one on the head injury.

"Oh, dad, this is Nana. She's from the…" Choji drifted off and looked at me with uncertainty.

"I'm from the Hyuuga clan," I finished for Choji. "You are, of course, Akamichi Choza. It is an honour sir." I bowed my head in exactly the way I was supposed to, and then looked up to see the amused look of the Akamichi clan head's face.

"Yes, I know who you are," he said smiling. "It is also nice to meet you." He then turned back to the bag of potato chips in his hand and pretended to be extremely interested in them, probably to give his son some privacy with his friends.

"You're Nara Shikamaru aren't you?" I asked, turning to the boy in question.

"Yeah I am," he mumbled drearily, obviously not concerned enough to build up effort for the conversation.

"Well, it's nice to meet you too!" I said with as much energy as I could muster. He flinched back at excitement and gave a small unsure nod in return. I just winked at him in amusement, which he didn't find funny.

"Why aren't you playing ninja anymore?" I asked Choji once I had finished antagonising the Nara. He was pretty fun to wind up. I moved up to give Choji some room so he could sit between Shikamaru and me.

"Oh well, they didn't want me to play anymore. They said I was too slow," murmured the little boy in shame as he took the offered seat.

"Well that wasn't nice of them," I said airily, flicking through my book absentmindedly. "I won't be playing with them again if there that unnecessarily horrible." I spared a glance at Choji and he had a small smile and another light blush across his cheeks.

"Shikamaru and I were just sitting watching clouds. You're welcome to join us if you want somewhere to read your book. It doesn't matter if you don't want to." The little boy looked down shyly and I grinned in returned.

"Thanks guys!" I said making myself comfortable and opening up my book. Choji shared his last bag of potato chips with us and we three sat together happily. When Choji's father left he invited Shikamaru and I to dinner, to which Shikamaru accepted and I said that I would have to ask at home and that if they said yes then I would love to. Choza waved at us goodbye and the rest of the afternoon was spent in companionable silence. It was nice to find young children who didn't have to run around all the time.

When the sun was beginning to set I told the two boys that I would run home and ask about dinner, but they insisted on accompanying me. So we set off in the direction of the Hyuuga clan compound talking about pointless things and the different shaped clouds the boys had spotted that afternoon.

"What were you reading?" Shikamaru asked with interest. I took out the book and handed it to the boy.

"It's about shogi strategy," I explained. "See, I'm actually not too bad at the game but I haven't got the attention span to keep playing for longer than 10 minutes. So I thought if I learnt some strategies then I could keep up my interest." Shikamaru grunted in interest and handed me back the book.

"I wouldn't mind having a look at that when you're done," he said offhandedly, but I could tell he was actually really interested. I laughed at his attempt at a careless attitude and gave him a little push, causing him to stumble over his own feet.

"Hey what was that for?" questioned the now angry Nara.

"What was what for?" I asked innocently. In response Shikamaru pushed me back and I stumbled into Choji who caught my fall effortlessly.

"What goes around comes around," said Shikamaru in a matter of fact voice but with a small smirk on his face.

"You know, for a genius, that was a pretty dumb move." My grin turned feral and the Nara's expression dropped instantly.

"What a drag," he muttered to himself and before I knew it he was running away from me as fast as he could.

I laughed and shouted after him, "much more intelligent move!" Then grabbed Choji's hand and dragged him after Shikamaru. _Dam, when that boy wants to he really can run._

We made it to my clan compound in record time and the boys waited outside as I went to find someone to tell them where I would be and make sure that there were no problems with it. As it happened, Hizashi was the first person I saw, and before I could run the other way and fine someone less intense and intimidating to ask, he spotted me.

"Nanami?" he demanded and I turned around and gave a bow.

"Hyuuga-sama," I said as I came up from the bow. The official title immediately told him I was up to something.

"What are you doing? Why are you not at supper?" Hizashi took in my dusty appearance and I could practically feel the disapproval radiating off of him.

"I have been invited to have dinner with the Akamichi clan. There wouldn't be any trouble in my attendance, would there?" I looked up at him with doe like eyes. The man in front of me, although he pretended different, was still my father and, despite the fact that he had become much more harsh and severe in the last few years, I still knew his pressure point. Just like when I was younger, if I tried hard and used the proper etiquette and decorum, I could get him to give me almost anything I wanted.

There was a pause. "I will get Neji to collect you after your meal," he conceded, giving me an expectant look.

"Thank you Hyuuga-sama," I said, grinning happily and giving another bow. Then, before he could change his mind, I sprinted in the other direction back to the main gate.

We ate and talked the whole evening. Choji's parents were lovely people and I envied the lack of formality and the freedom that their clan had. The food was fantastic and Choji's mother sent us away with bento boxes full of sweets and goodies. The whole thing was great fun and it was most certainly the beginning of a long and beautiful friendship.

The start of the next week was a breath of fresh air. First I realized Iruka must have had a talk with Naruto because I started to notice the dynamics of their relationship slowly change. It was still a student teacher relationship but Naruto showed more respect and didn't feel the need to constantly prank him. Not only that but when Iruka shouted at Naruto it was almost fondly. No prizes for guessing who the class favourite was. This was great and it meant zoning out in class was much easier as I didn't have Naruto next to me making loud noises for attention. In fact, I had banned him from sitting next to me and asked, no demanded, that Shikamaru and Choji take his place. They were quiet and I would get the occasional pleasure of Shikamaru's dry humour or even, if I was really lucky, Choji would offer me a potato chip. I noticed that he only ever gave chips to his closest friend, and felt privileged to be considered such.

We three just fit together nicely. We would spend most of our free time in each other's presence, usually in a relaxed silence as each of us fulfilled our favourite past times of eating, reading and sleeping. Once in a while we would go and play a game or do something overly childish, but these were only when either Choji got bored or I was in the mood to antagonise Shikamaru. Like I said, he was extremely fun to wind up. It was a bit of a challenge at first as he was incredibly laid back, but if you sat there prodding him with a stick for half an hour when he was trying to sleep, you would get the most amusing reactions. Choji disapproved, being the kind person he was, but even he couldn't hide the laugh as he watched Shikamaru attempt to throw things at me as I ran away screaming dramatically.

We spent lunch times under the oak tree in the corner of the courtyard. Choji's mum would usually pack enough food for all three of us to share and so we would have lunch together and it would be easy and comforting. I didn't think that life within the shinobi world could be so easy. I had just assumed that everything would be stoic and violent, with expectations and boundaries. My times with Shikamaru and Choji were easy and I was content with my two new best friends.

Don't worry, I wasn't abandoning Naruto in favour of less energetic friends, because it seemed Naruto had found a new playmate, and one obviously just as unwilling. The day that Naruto met Sasuke was the most relaxing school day I ever had. From that day on during lunchtimes Naruto was too busy challenging Sasuke to fights to take the time and effort to come and find me. We did remain friends, of course, and when Naruto needed someone to judge the fight, or simply needed backup, he would drag me from where I was chilling out with Shikamaru and Choji and force me to help him.

I didn't mind though, as it was only once in a while, and if I really didn't want to go I could always kick up a really big fuss and Naruto would scamper. It seemed as if he continued to very vividly remember the fight from the first day. With Naruto drifting from me to bigger and better things, or rather more competitive and proactive occupations, I saw Hinata start to drift as well. Like I said, she really was just a little girl at heart and had Shino as a friend who seemed more than happy to play with her. They fit together rather nicely. So everyone was happy.

So this routine continued on for the remainder of the year. My sixth birthday came and went in a blur and nothing much changed for me, a part from the fact that I now had friends, and not just relatives, to share the day with me. Shikamaru and I would frequently visit the Akimichi clan compound at weekends and Choji's parents were more than happy to accommodate us as we were such good friends of Choji. I never brought the boys back to the Hyuuga compound with me, as I knew that neither of them would appreciate the stuffy atmosphere that always seemed to hang around the place. We did, however, sometimes find ourselves at the Nara compound, and it was in one of these instances that I met Nara Shikaku.

We were sitting in Shikamaru's back garden and somehow the Nara heir had coerced me into playing shogi. After three games of me losing Shikamaru tried to get Choji to join my team and give me a fighting chance, but he was adamant about being neutral.

"What do you mean neutral? It's not like two against one would make much difference," I argued sceptically, "we would lose no matter what."

"Well, you'll definitely lose with a mind-set like that," said a voice from behind me. We all glanced up to see the Nara clan head standing over us and observing the game.

"Shikamaru, although keeps winning, is still having to try hard to think through your strategies. It's the hardest I've ever seen him work to win against someone of his own age. You should be proud." The Nara clan head looked at me with interest and then took a seat between Shikamaru and me, facing the centre of the board.

Shikaku watched our game until the end and when Shikamaru won for the fourth time that day he nodded very gently. "Both of you have strategic minds. Shikamaru in a sense that; he knows how to counteract any move put in front of him, but he doesn't yet have the talent to predict the moves before they are set into motion. You however, Nanami, know instinctively what the persons next move will be, but you don't know how to counteract that move effectively." I nodded to Shikaku wide-eyed and eager.

"You would make a good team in a battle," Shikaku nodded to himself, "but I have a feeling that Nanami has a different fate in store for her." Shikaku looked at me from the corner of his eye and I looked down sadly. Arranged marriage; this was certainly the thought that was passing through his mind in that instance. However, I also got the feeling that he was talking about something else as well. "Sit and work together to try and beat me," instructed the older Nara.

I moved and sat next to my friend and we played a very long and intense game of shogi. Shikaku came out victorious, but both Shikamaru and I were elated at the idea of how well we had done against the Nara clan head; a certified genius.

Every time after that when we came to the Nara compound, Shikaku would sit with us and give us lessons on strategy. It would be Shikamaru and I verse his father and his father would win every time without fail. But I did learn the power of positive thought in a battle, and that if you really believed you would win then the chances of you actually winning increased ten folds. The competitions also created a strong comradeship between Shikamaru and I as we worked together and began to see how each other's minds worked. I would be able to predict Shikaku's next move and Shikamaru would know how to counter it. We asked Choji to get involved but he refused as he didn't like competition.

I realized that this world had begun to change me. Before, in my previous life and at the beginning of this life, I had hated being competitive and would rather avoid the whole thing. However, I had come to realize that being competitive would give me drive and I began to see the joy in winning, and losing left a bitter taste in my mouth. It was tiny compared to most people's behaviour and I could still lose easily without caring much, but it was a big change in my eyes.

For some reason that thought scared me, and I hoped beyond hope that I didn't lose myself on the way to becoming a ninja.

It was in the last week of the academy year that I got into my second fight.

It was during the instances where Naruto successfully managed to remove me from my place under the oak tree. Through my friendship with Naruto I had also got to know Uchiha Sasuke. My first impression of him; _what an arsehole. _The impressions following the first one; _still an arsehole. _He obviously enjoyed Naruto's company and found his antics amusing, but hell if he was going to admit that to anyone.

"You're never going to beat me. So give up," Sasuke had sneered at Naruto after he had, for the hundredth time that week, beat him in a spar.

"You just wait!" Naruto shouted from his position on the floor as he cradled his bruised knee. "One day I'll be the greatest Ninja in the village. You'll see!"

"I'm an Uchiha and because of that I will always be a better shinobi than you," Sasuke said with his nose in the air and chest puffed out in pride.

"Thank you for sharing your superiority complex with us Sasuke," I remarked dryly from my position against the wall, observing the two boys in amusement.

"What do you know?" he scoffed right back.

"Just because you're from a great clan, doesn't mean you're going to be great," I mumbled with disinterest, taking out a book of fables Shikamaru had leant me and flicking through it absentmindedly.

"Come say that to my face!" shouted the now irate boy.

"Oh dear, I seemed to have wounded the little Uchiha's pride. Whatever will I do?" The sarcasm was lost on him, and my dead expression seemed to make him just that little bit more angry. This might not have been the wisest thing in the world to say I admit. But hindsight is an amazing thing.

Sasuke charged and I dodged. From there it just got out of hand. I ended up with a dislocated shoulder and he ended with a broken nose. It was the second time of me breaking someone's nose; it seemed that I had quite a good left hock. This time, however, there was hell to pay. Turns out when two clan children start a fight, in the school playground and it results in serious injuries (i.e broken bones), then the family has to be informed. So at the end of the day Sasuke and I sat outside Iruka's office, after being patched up and healed by the school nurse, and waited for a clan member to come and collect us. Lucky for us neither Hizashi nor Fugaku thought it important enough to come and collect us themselves, or rather unlucky I suppose.

Sasuke and I were sitting there in silence, waiting, when Uchiha Itachi walked around the corner of the corridor. Had I not been drilled by my clan for years on end about how to keep a straight face, then I probably have spluttered in surprise. I didn't, however, and just watched as the two Uchiha boys interacted. For Itachi was still just a boy. He was ten years old and actually quite small for his age. My first thought was that this was the very same boy that would one day destroy his whole clan minus one. He looked gaunt and tired and I felt uneasiness at being in his presences. Yet that changed as soon as I watched him looked at his brother and witnessed his eyes begin to sparkle with mirth. When I saw this look I realized that this wasn't the same boy who had murdered his family, and that I couldn't judge him on the atrocities that he had yet to commit.

"So you lost in a fight did you?" said the smooth voice of the elder Uchiha. I coughed in amusement and directed my face away from the brothers so they couldn't see my smirk. No point damaging Sasuke pride further for the sake of cruelty.

"No!" Sasuke cried in defence. "I won hands down."

I scoffed at what he said and turned to address the boastful boy. "Oh please. You practically ran away crying when I broke your nose," I told him in a matter of fact tone.

"Well you didn't seem as if you were going to do anymore fighting with that dislocated shoulder," Sasuke sneered.

"You're right," I admitted and the little boy looked smug at being proved right. But I continued. "I admit that I was about to throw the fight, because it bloody hurt. However, you ran away first. Therefore, I won." I grinned at the little boy who seemed just about ready to start another fight, but before he could pounce he was prodded three times in the forehead.

"Admit defeat," said his brother simply, obviously highly amused at our bickering.

Neji turned up moments after that with a scowl and gave me a pinch on the arm for good measure.

"Will you stop pinching me!" I cried out as he did it for a second time.

"Will you stop getting into fights?" he said in return.

I gave a shrug. "Probably not," I answered honestly, with a cheeky grin. "He started it." I pointed at Sasuke accusingly and he just glared in response.

"It was your fault!" he shouted again.

"You know," drawled the older Uchiha, cutting off his younger brother's complaining. "It's said that at your age when a boy and a girl fight, it's supposed to mean that they like each other."

Sasuke and I looked up to the older boy with blank expressions before it took time to process what he said. Itachi just studied his nails with a bored air and pretended we weren't there. I reacted first, as Sasuke just seemed to be in a state of shock. I snorted in an extremely unattractive fashion and then burst out laughing, keeling over and holding my stomach. I just couldn't stop; the idea was hilarious.

"Come on," Neji mumbled, obviously amused but refusing to show it. He grabbed the shoulder that hadn't been dislocated and dragged me away from the Uchiha brothers.

Before we were out of sight I called back to Sasuke, who had gone tomato red at what his brother had said. "Bye Sasuke-kun! I'll miss you! I hope you'll consider going on a date with-" I couldn't even finish the sentence, I was crying with laughter too much.

"Shut up!" shouted the little boy, embarrassed beyond belief. Itachi just looked highly amused by the whole situation.

The following Sunday afternoon, after the fight with Sasuke, my father and I settled down for our weekly game.

"Do not get into any more fights," Hizashi instructed over a game of shogi.

"I don't go looking for these fights you know." I was at the turning point of the game where I had been doing brilliantly, but from here it was about to go all downhill. My lessons with Shikaku had helped me greatly with my attention span, but I still had a long way to go. I moved my piece carefully but as soon as I placed it down I knew that I had made the wrong move.

"You will never be a great fighter. Good, but not great," Hizashi said emotionlessly.

"Gee, thanks," I muttered in a sarcastic voice with a pout. My father glanced at me sharply and so I sat a little straighter and put on my pleasantly interested face on. "How do you know?" I questioned innocently.

"Because women of this clan are never great fighters." I felt self-righteous indignation rise within me at his words.

"Well that's hardly fair," I said between gritted teeth. Yeah, you guessed it; my father was a misogynist. Hardly surprising, though, coming from such a stuck up clan. "There are surely acceptations."

"Yes," Hizashi said indifferently, and then his tone softened and a ghost of a smile graced his lips. "Hanabi will be a great fighter." Hanabi was the light in Hizashi's eyes. Although still a toddler she was already being taught clan techniques and I would bet anything that he was grooming her to one day take Hizashi's place as head of the clan. I knew that nobody would blame Hizashi for his choice for it was clear, already, that Hanabi was a better candidate than the quiet, kind Hinata.

"Okay, so Hanabi is set for life. What about the rest of the women in the clan? It is surely not simply their duty to become wives and birth children?" the bitterness in my voice was clear and Hizashi raised an eyebrow in question. "We are already slaves to the clan. Must we be slaves to our gender as well?" I explained, and Hizashi's eyes darkened at my subtle mention of my own curse-mark.

"Women of the clan have other qualities that make them good shinobi," Hizashi continued, "or, sometimes in reverse, not good shinobi."

"What do you mean?"

"Your cousin, Hinata, is an example of her qualities as a person being poorly suited for a kunoichi life style."

"She is too kind," I finished for him. We sat in silence for a few moments, working at the game in front of us. "And what about me?"

"You may not play shogi very well, but you are very skilled at playing people, and at such a young age. This is not surprising, as the Hyuuga have always been skilled in the area of reading people's emotions and motivation. You have this skill." My mind blanched at the compliment. I didn't know what to say, so I just continued on with playing the board game. It was fruitless; Hizashi moved the last piece and I had lost the game just like that. "Although," he continued as he stood up, "you have greatly improved with your strategizing skill. But they are not yet good enough to beat me." Hizashi left after that and I sat their pondering his words.

**Shikamaru has finally come into the story! I know a lot of you wanted to see him so here he is. Now remember, he's still a child. So he's not completely the Shikamaru we know and love but he'll get there soon enough. Not only this but we just met Itachi for the first time; I hope I got the interaction between Sasuke and him right. Tow of my favourite characters in the same chapter :D Anyway, I hope you like the chapter and I'll update again in about a weeks' time. I look forward to your feedback! Thank you every single person who has reviewed, I have read each and every one of them and that I know even one person is enjoying the story makes me happy! Again, it's not yet Beta'd so please forgive the spelling errors. So, until next time.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Stamping on Butterflies**

Chapter Six

"_You live and learn. At any rate, you live." ― Douglas Adams, Mostly Harmless_

The following year, my second year at the academy, I found myself turning seven. Along with this was the start of the use of chakra.

"Hey Shikamaru," I greeted my friend, sitting down next to the lazy Nara at the back of the room and taking out my school books. "Where's Choji?" I looked around and couldn't see the chubby boy anywhere and, thinking about it, I couldn't see the blond bundle of energy around either. I scratched my head in confusion. Hinata and Shino were at the other side of the room in quiet confidence with each other, and Hinata gave me a gentle smile when I looked her way.

"He's off with his dad today. Clan something or other," mumbled the boy. Shikamaru laid his head on the desk and closed his eyes; ignoring me and probably pretending that I wasn't there. Shikamaru could be rude and standoffish at times, but this dismissive personality was relaxing and I knew I could always count on my friend for a good laugh at his expense.

"What type of clan something?"

"It's chakra day idiot. His clan teach it themselves. Something about high-metabolism," muttered the boy into his arm and then continued to mumble about 'incessant babble' and 'trying to sleep here'. I ignored him in favour of a face palm. How could I have forgotten? It also explained why Naruto wasn't in. If he somehow tapped into the Kyuubi's chakra on his first try and unleashed it upon the village, then disaster would ensue. He was probably having private lessons with the Hokage and I was sure I would hear all about it when I next saw him.

"Alright, settle down everybody," Iruka-sensei said as he entered the room carrying mountains of books. He set the books on the table and addressed the room with excitement. "Today we are going to learn how to mould Chakra." An excited buzz went around the room at Iruka's words. Most of the students wouldn't have ever even thought about the idea of trying to use chakra before and this was a big step in any ninja career. It could make or break you.

Some people just didn't have the ability to control their chakra, and these were usually people from civilian families. If this happened then they would usually leave the academy, because a chakra-less ninja was as good as a dead ninja. Unless, of course, they had special circumstances. An example would be Rock Lee. He was born with deformed chakra coils, but through hard work and determination, he persevered. At the end of the day he would only ever be able to do the simplest E-rank jutsu's that they taught at the academy, but that was enough to make him a genin and from there he would become a legend of taijutsu. Hopefully, anyway, if my existence in this universe hadn't messed things up too badly.

Sometimes, however, people from clans also couldn't use chakra. This was a very embarrassing situation for anyone but when it came to clan business it was dam right humiliating. I had heard stories of clans that disowned their children simply because they couldn't wield chakra.

The first half of the day was spent on the basics of chakra theory. I actually found this particular part fascinating and listened attentively. I think Shikamaru was slightly surprised at how much my usually short attention span was managing to keep up with all the complex diagrams. When lunch came around I was beyond excited to try out chakra for myself.

That afternoon we were led outside, much to Shikamaru's annoyance, and were seated on the grass under a tree on the far section of the training ground. We were instructed into a meditate pose and told to close our eyes. Iruka assured us that we didn't need to be paranoid about being in such a vulnerable position, because he was there to protect us. He really was adorable. I couldn't help but contemplate whether or not it would be inappropriate to give him a hug.

Iruka's soothing voice could be heard above the wind as he guided up to find our chakra. "The funny thing about chakra is that you've have had it for the whole, entirety of your life. But until you make the conscious decision to reach inside yourself and pluck it out from the depths of your sub-conscious, then you will never be able to sense it. But once you do sense it then you can never lose it again. It is like a spot on your nose; you didn't realize it was there until someone pointed it out, but as soon as you're made aware of its existence, you can always feel its presence."

His analogy gained a few chuckled from the students around me. His soft voice continued, "Clear your mind so that there is only darkness. Then look deep into that darkness, and try and find a source of light. When you see that light, you need to grab it and pull it towards you." He went silent and all that could be heard was the collective breathing of my class.

Inside my own mind I was in a pitch black mindscape searching for a spark of light, and rather unsuccessfully. I waited patiently and looked closely into the depths of my mind but still couldn't see anything no matter how hard I looked. However, after a while I began to feel something build up within me. It was powerful and comforting and I reached out for it on instinct alone. But when my hand reached the light it seemed to just pass through it as if it was smoke, and I lost the powerful feeling instantly, as if it was never there.

I tried again to look for that source of light. After a few moments I saw it again, hanging in the darkness like a source of life. But when I tried to keep hold of it the light dispersed and so I stood in a shower of gold light. But when the light was gone, it was gone, and I couldn't feel it anymore. So I tried looking for it again.

I didn't know how long this went on for, until I was broken out of my internal struggle by the whooping celebrations of Kiba.

"I did it! I found it," shouted Kiba.

Iruka-sensei congratulated Kiba on his success and told him to be quite to let others concentrate. Throughout the next few hours random bursts of celebration could be heard as multiple of people found their chakra successfully, and I just felt worse and worse. By the end of the lesson I was thoroughly depressed and as we were led back to the class room I couldn't help my drag my feet moodily. All the hours I had spent finding my chakra and then losing it was draining and frustrating. I wouldn't be surprised if people could feel the bitterness rolling off me in wave of annoyance.

"Well done class that was a productive lesson," cheered Iruka-sensei. "You are all dismissed for today. However, I would like to speak to anybody that did not managed to tap into their chakra. So could all of those students please stay behind?" The class proceeded to leave the class room and Shikamaru shot me an understanding glance as he passed me. He was one of the first to contact his chakra.

"Hey, Nana," said the boy, giving my dejected look a sympathetic smile. "You coming to Choji's later?"

"Might do," I said ambiguously. "Depends if I'm still alive, and my clan hasn't offered me to the God in sacrifice." My sarcasm wasn't lost on the young genius and he smirked at my very bad tasting joke.

"I'll make sure to come wave you off," Shikamaru replied as he turned his back and left. I felt like throwing a shoe at him but that would involve getting up to fetch said shoe afterwards. It wasn't worth it. I waved off Hinata as she walk up to me and a shocked expression crossed her face. I gave her an impish smile and said I would meet with her and Neji after I had talked with Iruka-sensei.

There were about five students left in the room in the end; all of which looked mightily depressed at the idea that they hadn't been successful. Unsurprisingly, I was the only clan kid. Iruka beckoned us to all sit on the front desks as he leant back on his own desk with his arms folded. He looked at us each in turn and then signed unhappily.

"I'm really sorry but I'm going to have to be honest with you. Most students find their chakra within the first hour of looking for it. If you cannot find it within this time it probably means that you simply do not have high enough chakra reserves to ever become a shinobi." He was blunt and to the point, which I appreciated. I felt a small ball of anxiety start to grow within my stomach and I felt like crying, but I held it in impassively like a good little Hyuuga.

"Is there no hope?" The question came from a little civilian boy who was so frail it looked like a weak gust would blow him away.

"The probability of getting in touch with your charka is so minimal it almost isn't worth it. If you haven't felt it yet, you probably never will. I'm sorry," muttered our teacher with true regret. The civilians dispersed with dreary steps but I remained where I was seated.

But I had felt it. I had been able to feel it and touch it, but I just couldn't sustain it. When the rest of the students left I turned to Iruka with a question.

"I'm sorry Nanami, but that include you," he said with deep sympathy.

I shook my head and explained to him what had happened in the darkness of my mind. He seemed shocked at what I had said.

"I've never heard of that happening before," Iruka muttered to himself disbelievingly. "Would you mind trying again for me? I will attempt to feel out your chakra for abnormalities while you do." The teacher looked worried, but at the same time a little excited at the prospect of my situation. How nice of him.

I did as he asked and closed my eyes. In my dark mindscape I searched out for the ever evasive ball of light. After a few minutes I saw it hovering mockingly, and was almost tempted to stick my tongue out at the little devil petulantly. Instead, though, I reached out and touched it. I felt the powerful rush of chakra but witnessed regretfully as it dispersed around me.

When I opened my eyes I saw Iruka looking at me with a calculating expression. "Well, there is no doubt that you have indeed come in contact with your chakra. But what is stopping you from grasping hold of it is a mystery to me." He looked down contemplatively. "Hopefully, we will be able to overcome this issue," he said, looking up. "I will inform you family of this development. You are a promising student Nanami, and it would be a shame if you could not become a Ninja."

I felt a tendril of fear run through me at the prospect of not being a shinobi. I had once upon a time entertained the idea of not becoming a ninja, but had quickly disregarded the idea. This was because, for one reason, my clan wouldn't allow it and, for another, the idea of being in such a dangerous world and not being a ninja was the scarier idea.

I didn't tell Neji about the situation on the way home, and Hinata didn't bring it up either. I knew I would have to tell him eventually, but I was going to put it off as long as possible.

I was called to my father's study that night.

"I was informed about your difficulty with chakra manipulation," he stated firmly and I nodded in reply. There was concern in his eyes, but whether this was for me or what it could mean for the clan, was a mystery.

Before Hizashi could say another word there was a knock on the door and a tall, greying man entered. He glanced at me sharply before he turned to my father with a quick and purposeful bow.

"Hyuuga-sama," spoke the man with a rich, deep voice. Hiashi stood and manoeuvred around his desk. He gave a sharp bow in return to the man; specifically no higher and no lower, as a sign of equal respect.

"Mikata," Hiashi said; acknowledging the man in return, his voice neutral and without emotion. Silence fell over the room then and I stood awkwardly with my hands behind my back. I pursed my lips and glanced to the side, observing the man who had intruded in on our meeting. The two elder men stared each other down and neither even hardly moved to breath. As the tension grew I began to feel uncomfortable and thought that maybe I should leave the two men alone.

However, when I was about to voice my thoughts the tension was suddenly broken. "Hizashi," spoke the man gently with a smile. The breath I had taken caught in my throat and I coughed with unrestrained surprise. Hizashi, however, didn't even blink and all I could do was shake my head in disbelief and despair. I really couldn't be bothered with this fiasco after such a difficult and disappointing day.

Hizashi, witnessing my distress, explained the situation to me. "Mikata was the medic on my genin team, and has been a close friend to me for many years." I was first taken aback by the idea that Hizashi had friends. I know that this was a ridiculous thought but his life seemed to simply revolve around the Hyuuga clan, and not only this but all his friends from before the kidnapping would now think him dead. This man must have been pretty special to have Hizashi's unwavering trust with the greatest secret in the Hyuuga clan.

Mikata simply chuckled under his breath good-naturedly, and the tension in the air seemed to ease. Mikata turned to me and looked me up and down as if I was a very interesting specimen. I had to restrain myself from glaring back at the old man. "This is your daughter I take it?" he asked Hizashi, as if I wasn't even in the room.

"Yes," he simply stated in return.

"And you believe her to have deformed chakra coils?" He grabbed my chin without warning, but when I tried to flinch away he just held on tighter. His eyes bore into mine and squinted hard, as if he was looking for something. Deformed chakra coils? This was a new development that very much involved me. I glanced at my father in a way that told him I was not happy about being left in the dark about something so crucial.

"Yes," was all Hizashi's reply again. There was obviously something going on here that I was missing, but the easiest option was to just go along with it. I had the feeling that this man, like Hizashi, was the type of person to want to get on with a task and avoid pleasantries at all costs.

"Sit child," instructed the elder man gravely; letting go of my chin. He sat on the floor in a lotus position and gestured for me to do the same opposite him. I glanced at my father unsure, but he just nodded very lightly to me and so I did what Mikata asked me. "I will have to feel for the girl's chakra with my medical ninjutsu," he explained both for mine and Hizashi's benefit.

With this Mikata leant forward and placed a glowing green hand on top of my forehead. His eyes slid shut and I dared not move in case I broke his concentration. I felt a light feeling start to glide through my body and I shivered involuntary at the sensation. The chakra didn't even waver for a second and continued to probe.

After what felt like a life time of waiting he pulled back and observed me critically once again. "Your superstitions were correct, my friend," spoke the old medic-nin. Hizashi had remained standing throughout and at this news he moved back round his desk and sat down gracefully; hands in front of him and a calculating look in his eye.

Mikata stood and I followed his lead. I swallowed thickly at the situation and a ball of worry formed within my stomach.

"How bad is it?" asked my father stiffly.

"She will be able to manipulate chakra, but she will never be able to gather enough to produce any substantial ninjutsu," said the medic in a matter of fact voice. "Pass the academy test, yes. But nothing more."

Hizashi gave a curt nod at Mikata and glanced at me with a surveying look. I looked down and frowned at my feet. Never be able to produced ninjutsu? That wasn't fair. For the first time since entering the room I spoke.

"Why?" My voice sound concerned and curious, but I wasn't overly bothered by the news. Can't miss what you don't have, right?

"It because you're chakra coils have been, what us medic-nin's call, 'burned-out'," said Mikata clinically. "When you were a very small child, maybe one or two, your body and your chakra were still forming together. My guess would be that something disrupted this process and caused the link between your mind and chakra to break. This link was reformed at you grew, but is now narrower and with more resistance that most people. This will allow you to have excellent chakra-control, so much so that I would have suggested you become a medical-ninja. However, the resistance is so high that you cannot gather enough chakra within yourself to produce something as powerful as medical-ninjutsu." Mikata finished with a thoughtful look and a faraway expression.

"And so she will be purely taijutsu dependent?" Hizashi asked thoughtfully, and with a small trace of worry.

"Not necessarily," said the medic. "Genjutsu requires very little chakra, and a lot of chakra control. If she is intelligent enough, then genjutsu would probably be her best option."

It is said that it is mostly very smart people that can become genjutsu masters, because they need quick thought processing to produce illusionary images. I knew my own limits and felt disappointment rise within me. I would work hard at genjutsu, but I knew that I would not be able to become a master. I wasn't smart enough, and this wasn't simply false modesty on my part.

"Any particular event which could have stimulated this… deformation?" I asked almost reluctantly. I had an idea about what it might have been, but wanted some semblance of confirmation.

The medic hummed thoughtfully at my question. "Yes, that is what is troubling me. I would say that it would have to have been a spiritual change within you brought on by an external factor. I could guess and say that it was the Kyuubi attack, but you were too young for it to permanently affect your chakra coils. The chances of this happening anyway are slim to none. But there you go."

A spiritual change would explain it. I could barely remember the moment I had arrived within this world, but knew it hadn't been pain free. My mind had screamed out at the memory backlash. Not only this but I remembered the flash of absolute clarity with my chakra, allowing me to see without actually seeing everything around me. Then it had just disappeared and I had barely thought about it until this moment. For some reason the arrival of my memories meant a premature change within my spiritual chakra. And now I had deformed chakra coils just like Lee. This sucked.

Hizashi hummed and then turned to address me. "Nanami, you will have to work very hard to accomplish your goals because of this disability. I have every confidence that you will succeed." The praise did little to make me feel better but I acknowledged it all the same. Extra work was not fun. "I will inform the academy of this development. You are dismissed." He waved me off and I left with a bow to both Mikata and my father.

When I made it to my room I opened the door and found my brother sitting on my bed and pocking through the book I had been reading that day. When he heard me come in he looked up and set the book down slowly. I just stood in the entrance of my room with my arms folded and my lips pursed.

I knew Neji wouldn't break the silence so I started. "Hinata told you," I stated.

"Yes… Why didn't you tell me?" His tone would be blank to anyone else, but I heard a whisper of hurt hiding underneath. In his eyes, all we had was each other now, and that I didn't tell him something so key would understandably make him upset.

"Because..." my throat felt dry all of a sudden, "I didn't want you to be disappointed in me. I don't want to be written off just yet." I smiled weakly at my brother, but averted my eyes when he just looked back at me blankly. We stayed in silence for a few more moments before Neji moved off the bed and walked towards me.

"I wouldn't think you would be such an easy character to write off," he said without emotion. "You have been with Hiashi-sama?" There was an edge to Neji's voice that could be heard every time he mentioned our uncle. My heart would always clench painfully at the fact that I couldn't reach out and take the bitterness away by telling him the truth, but I had become more accustomed to it by now.

"I was," I said reluctantly. I was beating around the bush and I knew it. Not something I ever usually did but this was a delicate situation. I went on and described to Neji what the situation with my chakra was, and he just remained quiet the whole time.

When I was done, and my head was bowed in defeat, he did something very unexpected. He reached and tilted my chin upwards and studied my face seriously. "So I was right," he said, nodding to himself. "You really aren't such an easy character to write off. You will still be a force to be reckoned with." A ghost of a smile washed over me and the look in Neji's eyes softened.

Before he would step away and return to his own room I flung my arms around his neck and gave him a great, big hug. He was used to my antics by now and so just simply patted me awkwardly on the back in return. Neji didn't do hugs.

I went to bed feeling better about the situation after my chat with my brother. I wouldn't let such a trivial matter stop me. So what if I couldn't do ninjutsu? There were plenty of shinobi out there with similar problems, and so I would overcome the issue just like them.

At school the next day everybody was buzzing and ready to start to use chakra with an actual jutsu. However, it was not to be. We were given mountains of theory work to complete and I couldn't help but bash my head repetitively on the desk.

By lunch we were all dragging our feet out of the class room into the cool air outside. Choji, Shikamaru and I went to find a nice secluded spot on the field. About five minutes into break Naruto found us, dragging a complaining Sasuke with him, and so we were subjected to their constant bickering as well as already having a deflated brain from that morning's hard work.

"Man, this is such a drag," Shikamaru complained as he rested his head against the back of a tree. "So, Nana… what happened with you then?"

I explained to the three boys, just like I had with Neji the night before, about my deformation. Choji and Naruto had sympathetic ears, and Naruto began to explain his own problems with chakra. Sasuke just pretended the trees were more interesting than what Naruto had to say, but I could tell he was actually really interested. Naruto said that his problem was opposite to mine and that instead of only managing a tiny amount of chakra to control; he had a vast ocean of it. The Hokage said to him that chakra control for him would be like trying to use a bucket to fill a thimble of water. Doable but difficult.

As Naruto talked, Shikamaru stayed quiet and observed me with half lidded eyes. When it got to a stage where all I could feel was Shikamaru's stares, I snapped.

"Oi, Shikamaru, quit it," I complained, interrupting Choji in mid conversation. Shikamaru's eyes, however, didn't move from studying me and so I approached the young Nara and gave him a hard tap on the forehead. The boy squirmed and complained at the agitation, but I just gave him a dry look.

"What?" he asked grumpily.

"Why were you looking at me like that? What are you planning?" Shikamaru had the look on his face that usually ended in him being right and me regretting ever asking. But dam, if I wasn't a curious person I don't know who was.

"Well…" drawled the boy, "I was just thinking of your chakra. That possibly, because of this lack of connection between your mind and your chakra, you would be immune to genjutsu."

My mind blanched at the idea. Well that was a theory and a half.

"But wait, that doesn't make sense. That would mean that anyone who can't get in contact with their chakra would be immune to genjutsu, and we know that's not possible," scoffed Sasuke, unimpressed.

Shikamaru just shook his head. "No, you see unless you have damaged chakra coils, then you are connected to your chakra. Just because you have the inability to find it doesn't mean you aren't connected to it. Nana's a special case in that her mind and her chakra are held together by threads, when it should be rope." I nodded at Shikamaru analogy, loving, not for the first time, that I had a genius as a friend.

Suddenly a thought occurred to me, and a wicked grin spread across my face.

"Boys?" I questioned mischievously. I got one very excited looked from Naruto as he noted the gleam in my eyes, and three groans from the others as they realized that I was going to drag them into whatever plan I had. "Anybody want to place their bets?"

Sasuke and Naruto bet that I would still be influenced by genjutsu. Naruto said this because he didn't believe that it was possible, and Sasuke for the same reason due to his superiority complex about the ability of the sharingan and its genjutsu.

Whereas Shikamaru, Choji and I reckoned that I would be immune. Shikamaru agreed because it was his theory, I agreed because I thought it would be cool if it were true, and Choji agreed because he had been friends with Shikamaru long enough to know that betting against him was almost certainly a losing bet. Sasuke and Naruto didn't know this, and I would feel bad about conning them if I wasn't so unsure myself. It was a crazy thought, but I had had my fair share of crazy situations to last me a life time, so I couldn't judge the relatively thought-out theory.

It was a free for all, and the winning side got to choose the losing sides forfeit. A very risky move, but if we won I was counting on the amusement factor to be worth it.

So, learning to use chakra? My conviction was real and stubborn, but the practicalities of it were difficult. It was harder than I expected.

I sat on the grass on the grounds of the Hyuuga estate underneath the shade of a Sakura tree peacefully. I had my eyes closed and my breathing was deep. I searched inside myself for that spark of chakra and felt it flare. But as soon as I had a conscious grip upon the mystical feeling I felt it slipping away from me like a hazy dream. Following that it was as if I were dead. Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

I stood up and started stamping on the ground like a child throwing a tantrum. It. Wouldn't. Work.

"What are you doing?" said an annoying voice from behind me.

"I'm practicing. What does it look like?" I snapped back at the person, collecting myself with as much dignity as I could, and returned to my lotus position and my failure of meditation

"It feels like you're sending out a homing beckon," Neji droned, ignoring my obvious dismissal. Dropping my futile attempt at chakra manipulation, I turned around and glared at my brother.

"Piss off," I hissed in his direction. I had been at it for the last four hours straight; turning down a meal at the Akimichi's for the fruitless practice. "I do not need you, in all you're self-superiority, to tell me that I'm bad. I know." I turned my back on him, crossed my arms, and I sulked.

And he chuckled.

"That's it!" I shouted. I needed someone to take my frustration out on and he was the unlucky reciprocate. I was about ready to launch myself at him, head first and teeth bared, when I received a sharp pinch on the side of my arm.

"Ow," I yelled, my anger dispelling in favour of nursing my arm. Said culprit did not apologise but instead sat down opposite me and mirrored my position.

"Let us work together," he said gently but firmly. It was not a question; it was more of an order.

Every day following this event, after school for an hour, I would sit with Neji underneath the Sakura tree and meditate. I had at first instructed Neji to go and do something more constructive with his time, other than helping me. But he insisted that helping me with chakra control and manipulation was more import. He argued that if I was going to die then my whole existence would be counter-productive, and that he simply could not let that happen. I think what he meant to say was that I was his sister and that he loved me and would help me get better because of that. But Neji had trouble expressing himself, and so I would take what I was given.

The more and more I did this the longer and longer I seemed to be able to hold onto my chakra and contain it for a period of time. Finally, by the time I turned 8 years old, I had a break through. I had discovered that my chakra could only be manipulated through a practically pinprick hole within my coils and that this was where I was gaining my chakra from. It was not that I didn't have the chakra, but that I couldn't get to it easily enough. Over the past year I worked and worked at collecting and holding onto the chakra for as long as I could, but eventually when I stopped the meditation all the chakra would just go.

One day, however, when I had gathered a substantial amount of chakra within my mind scape, it had remained there. The chakra continued to pour through the pinprick into my consciousness so I could manipulate it at will. I could finally feel my chakra!

Iruka-sensei hadn't been lying when he said that once you found your chakra then you would always have it. It just took a bit longer for me to grasp it; like a bar of soap in a bath. I had been ecstatic for the rest of the day following that. I could tell Neji was proud of my progress and hard work, but I knew he was also relieved that he wouldn't have to meditate with me any longer.

It wasn't long after my success with Neji that I finally got to find out who won the bet about whether or not I could use genjutsu. It had been over a year ago, but none of us had forgotten it. We had begun work on the replacement jutsu and half the class had already managed it once or twice, including Sasuke and Choji. I was struggling to build up enough chakra to achieve desired result and just kept popping back in and out of existence on the same place, but the fact that I could achieve anything made me over the moon. Naruto had a similar problem to me, but his determination to never give up gave me the hope that I could achieve the impossible. He really was a special kid. Shikamaru hadn't achieved it either, but that was simply because he wasn't putting any effort in.

Anyway, so one morning we were being introduced to genjutsu and were learning how to recognise and dispel them. It was full of theory work and tedious hand seals. Later on, after lunch, Iruka unexpectedly put a genjutsu on the class. He gave no prior warning or sign that it had even happened. It wasn't until other people in the class started to call out at the visions they were seeing did I realize what had happened. I felt a little tingle in the back of my mind, but apart from that nothing.

I sat there dumb struck and a little impressed at Shikamaru's prediction. I was immune to genjutsu. It was very cool, and just a little bit disturbing.

After class I had gone and informed Iruka-sensei of that fact that I hadn't seen the genjutsu. Not only this, but I had a little audience behind me, as Naruto and Sasuke had demanded proof when I had told them the news. Iruka, as well, wanted to make sure what I said was true, and so placed another one on me. I waited for a moment and felt the strange little tingling sensation, but apart from that nothing.

I looked up expectantly to my teacher and all I got in return was a face full of shock. With this I also heard two loud moans and a grin stretched across my face, from ear to ear.

I swung round and stared at the two miserable boys with open glee. This would be fun.

**Thank you for reading! I am over the moon about how many of you enjoyed Itachi's introduction in the pervious chapter, and if you liked that then you're going to love the next chapter that I have planned for you. My heart melted a bit at Neji in this chapter, I have to admit, and you're going to see more of that next chapter. Don't worry he's not going to at all turn OOC but we will get to see inside his head a little bit more. I hope you're excited to see what the forfeit for the bet is going to be! **

**So the reason I didn't want Nana to be able to use ninjutsu is because it stops her from being the obvious marry-sue, amazing at everything type character. I want her to be a heroin, but I also want her to be kind of normal. So please tell me what you think, I absolutely love all of your feedback and suggestions! I especially love to hear your theories! I'll try and update in a weeks' time. Sorry for any grammatical errors, but I hope you can overcome them and enjoy the story anyway. Thanks!**

**P.S. Just to tell you, I've started getting into 'Fairy Tail' and I'll tell you I'm in love. I suggest if you're looking for a new anime to watch and you haven't already seen it, to start watching it pronto! Like really! **


	7. Chapter 7

**Stamping on Butterflies**

Chapter 7

"_I thought about how there are two types of secrets: the kind you want to keep in, and the kind you don't dare to let out." ― Ally Carter, Don't Judge a Girl by Her Cover_

It was a Sunday afternoon and I was eight years old when I was informed that the contracts of my arranged marriage had been signed.

Not only this but it was in blood and could not be taken back under even the most tenuous conditions. Neither party would be informed of the others identity until they had both come of age at 18 years old - In my eyes, that was awfully young to be getting married. The way my father had told me the news was cold and unsympathetic. I felt tears rise in my eyes but I pushed them back down. I didn't want to give them my tears as well as my future.

"It is your duty to your clan," said my father with a serious voice. I felt like pulling a Mulan on him and telling him that 'I also had a duty to my heart', but I knew he wouldn't appreciate it. I had known for a while that my father and the clan elders would eventually pick someone for me to be wed to in holy matrimony, but until the moment he told me it was confirmed, I had been in denial about the whole situation. My 18th birthday was a long way off but I knew that it would come around sooner than I wanted it to.

I didn't wait for Hizashi to dismiss me but instead stormed out of his office in a fit of rage. I had hardly reached the end of the corridor before the anger had left me and I could no longer keep up the energy to feel righteous indignation at the situation. All that was left was bitterness.

That day I wanted to get out of the compound and get away from all the responsibilities that came with it. Also knew that I needed to inform Neji about the arranged marriage as soon as possible. I didn't want to tell him about it at all, but Hizashi suggested that it might be a sensible thing to do so that he could get his head around the idea. I didn't want to do anything that that man had suggested; I felt betrayed, even though I knew the situation to be inevitable. But I also knew my father was right; Neji needed to know.

I pushed my feelings down into the deep recesses of my mind and collected up my usual cheery disposition. With a mischievous smile on my face I went searching for Neji and managed to convince him to go exploring with me that day. Or rather, I told him that I would go by myself and that if he didn't want me to get into even more trouble, then the wisest option was to go with me. Shikamaru had told me that his father had once taken him to the top of the Hokage monument and that although the walk was 'a drag' the view was pretty amazing. So I reckoned this would be the perfect place to tell him. Peaceful and private.

Neji begrudging followed me and after an hour or so searching, we found our way up onto the monument. We sat together on the head of the second Hokage in companionable silence, looking out onto the village.

"What a lovely view," I said taking in a deep breath and humming in contentment. When Neji remained silent I glanced over to him and saw a dark look on his face. "What's up?"

Neji and I were not as close as we once were, but I was still probably the only person in the world that truly knew the boy sitting next to me. He was still hurting and held much resentment, and that meant he was unwilling to open up, even to myself. Asking him if he was alright was not a simple question in the least.

"Uchiha Itachi," mumbled Neji.

"That's random. What about him?"

"He has it all." Neji turned his head away from me and I sighed sadly at my brother.

"I don't think so," I said, looking up as a crow flew overhead and watching it landed on his nest, hidden in the eye of the third Hokage. "What brought this on?" I asked curiously.

"Hinata informed me that there is to be an event at the Uchiha compound. Something about clan relations." Shikamaru had mentioned the event a few days before to me and I had been looking forward to having a look inside the walls of the Uchiha clan's home. They weren't as closely guarded as the Hyuuga clan, but it wasn't such a place that you could just leisurely stroll through. Neji continued, "Uchiha Itachi has everything. He is clan heir, he is a genius and his family is whole."

"You do not envy him for these reasons alone though." I knew my brother and could see what he was clearly trying to say.

"He is free," Neji spat the words bitterly. As he said this he leaned forward and rested his head upon his hand regretfully. I understood what he was saying; Itachi was the embodiment of everything that Neji yearned for in life. But he was wrong.

"He is more constricted than even you," I muttered sadly.

"How do you mean?" My brother glanced at me with an emotionless mask; even now he was trying to hide his true distress, but I could see clearly in his eyes how conflicted he really was.

"Do you believe you are more influenced by others expectations of you, or your own expectations of yourself?" I asked him rhetorically. "You believe in fate and therefore you follow the path you believe you must follow, whether it goes against what you really want is irrelevant. We are lucky in that our clan is at peace. Whose side would you pick if it was between your clan and your village?"

I looked to Neji and he seemed lost for an answer. "You believe this is the path of Uchiha Itachi?" he finally asked.

"Mere guess work," I mumbled, "but the boy is clearly stressed and everybody is aware of the political pressures the Uchiha are facing." I looked towards the face of the first Hokage and thought of all the stories I knew of his from my past life.

Neji's face darkened considerably and he watched the crow take flight with envy. "Maybe the Hyuuga situation is worse, though. The caged bird seal doesn't allow me to exercise that right. Is it true loyalty I have, or is it forced me upon because of the seal?"

"Do you remember father's last words to us?" I asked seemingly off the top of my head.

Neji drew in a shaky breath and recited them to me perfectly. "Follow your duty children; for it is not a curse, but a privilege."

I turned to my brother and smiled, resting a hand upon his shoulder. "They can make you act for good of the clan, but unless you are loyal within your heart of hearts then there is no truth in your actions. At the end of the day, you can still exercise your free will. You still have a choice." My voice sounded sure and direct, as if I was someone who had never had their choices taken away from them.

"Not anymore. I don't have a choice," Neji said bowing his head in defeat.

"You always have a choice," I said with as much conviction as I could muster. I could hear the lie in my own words, and I'm sure that Neji could as well.

"You can see things that no one else can, Nana," Neji said, turning back to me and giving me a surprisingly gentle look. "Sometimes, I think you see more than even I do." He no longer looked bitter, but instead looked longingly up into the sky. "I'm glad you were born without the byakugan. You have the freedom to do what you wish. You are not a caged bird. But that also means you cannot understand."

Perhaps Hizashi was right, and that Neji would have to find his own path, or get the sense knocked into him by Naruto. No matter what I said he was determined to hold onto his bitterness. Either way I knew I could not help him and so reluctantly made the decision within my mind to just try and stand by him if he needed me.

We sat onto of the monument without speaking and watched as the sun began to set, and colours of pink, orange and red danced across the sky. Neji seemed lost in thought but I could feel the pressure in the air rise and rise until it was going to burst. I needed to tell him soon otherwise I would chicken out. I had already been avoiding the inevitable. Neji seemed to sense the tenseness in the air and turned to me in question.

"Nanami, what-?"

"I've-got-an-arranged-marriage," I blurted out as quickly as I could. I then placed a hand over my mouth, as if I couldn't believe what I had just said, and turned my face up to the sky with a dumbstruck look.

Dam, maybe I wasn't taking this as well as I thought.

"An… arranged… marriage," Neji said the words as if testing them on his tongue, "I don't understand?" He seemed confused beyond belief and I sympathized with him. I lowered my eyes to look at my brother and let my hands drop into my lap.

"Because I don't have the Byakugan, and therefore there is less chance that I'll pass the gene onto any children I have, I am allowed to marry outside of the clan," I said with a scratchy throat brought on by my apprehension.

"Yes, I understand that," said the Hyuuga genius though gritted teeth. I could see the tension rising within him, ready to burst out. He balled his hands into tight fists with the whites of his knuckles clear as day. "But what I don't understand is why they think that it's acceptable to dictate your life!" Neji stood and turned to me with fiery eyes and an angry sneer. It wasn't directed at me, but at the clan and their insufferable need to control. Yet Neji could not show this side of himself to the clan, and so he showed it to me instead. It was not pleasant, but he needed an outlet. Hizashi was right; Neji needed to know about the marriage now so that, when it eventually came around, he could accept it.

"I do not mind," I muttered quietly, not quite managing to meet my brother's eyes.

"You are lying. I can tell," he sneered again. "Who is it?"

"I don't know. Neither me nor the other person will find out until we are both of age."

"You do not want this; so do not follow it!" It was alright for Neji to give his everything to the clan, but I knew he couldn't bare the idea of me giving everything as well. In his eyes, they didn't deserve me.

"I have my own duty," I told him gently.

"One that you do not have to follow!" He threw his arms in the air with a rare fit of rage. He could only see the injustice in the situation, and so all he could feel was his own hate.

"I have no choice," I said with a slightly raised voice.

"You always have a choice," he shouted, throwing my own words back in his face.

"Well then I choose to do the right thing!" I told him, getting to my feet and matching his volume with me own.

"I…" Neji seemed to be completely overcome with emotion and obviously unable to express it. He was my older brother and I knew he wanted to protect me; especially from the clan. But he felt as if he was failing miserably and I could see his ideals falling around him. He was closing himself to me. "Fine then," he said clearly and without emotion, and then turned to leave.

I had seen this reaction coming and before he could get out of my reach I jumped into the air and latched myself to his back. He seemed taken aback at first, but collected himself quickly. Instead of attempting to throw me off like I had thought he would do, he simply stopped in the middle of the path with his head bowed.

We stayed like that for a few minutes, neither one of us daring to move. I was the one to speak out first.

"It's not fair," I muttered into his shoulder; my arms wrapped around his neck tightly. "And I don't like it. But at the end of the day I will do what I must. This is not just about the Hyuuga clan, but about strengthening the bonds within our Hidden village." His back was still rigid and his stance strong, but I could feel his will faulting at my words. I was right, and he knew it.

"If there is a question of loyalty; I know where I stand." My last words seemed to hit home and he relaxed in defeat. I didn't let go but rested my head against his back, closing my eyes and heaving a sigh. "Can I have a ride home?" I asked tiredly, suddenly exhausted from the emotional outpour I had received from Neji.

My brother, broken from his thoughts, reached round and hooked his arms around my legs to boost me up. I tightened my grip to keep from falling, and we set off down the path without saying a word.

I had a feeling in the back of my mind, as if something had changed that day; like in the dojo between the fight with Hizashi and Hiashi. I didn't know what, and wouldn't for a while yet. But had I looked around I would have noticed a shadow lurking in the trees; one who had overheard the majority of the conversation. I might have notice something change in that persons eyes with interest and something akin to dread. I might have regretted revealing so much in a place so clearly public, where anyone could over hear.

But I didn't notice, and so I was blissfully ignorant.

It was the night of the event at the Uchiha's compound. All of the clans within the boundaries of Konoha were present and active within the Uchiha districts walls. Yes, I mean district. The Hyuuga gets a compound, and the Uchiha get a district. Well, putting aside the fact that the Uchiha clan have way to much land, it was a beautiful place. Not quite as elegant as the Hyuuga compound but it had a different type of regal sophistication about it which spoke of wealth – and that they took themselves way too seriously.

Neji and I went together and joined in the festivities. It was a carnival of sorts with different food stands and games to play; all supplied by different clans around the village which specialized in selected trade. The Akimichi were supplying the food, the Yamanaka had a flower stand, and, randomly enough, the Aburame had taken charge of goldfish scoping. Glancing over in the Aburame's direction I could see Hinata and Shino sitting together not too far away from the stand.

I let Neji choose what to do first, as I knew my plans with the boys didn't need to happen until later and the day was still young. Neji was not a child by any respect, but that day I did see a flicker of fun and playfulness appear in his eyes every now and again. We started at the music stands and went on from there. My favourite was the goldfish scoping and when I managed to catch one I almost did a little dance. That was until Neji pinched me on the arm and told me that I was being socially unacceptable. So instead of dancing I stuck my tongue out at him, to which he just pinched me again. For the rest of the day I carried around the little plastic bag with my new fish Nemo in it. Neji thought the name was stupid.

The Uchiha members were everywhere and the whole event was rather, unsurprisingly, well policed. Yet I couldn't help but notice the bags under the eyes of some of the elder members and the physical ticks that they gave off every now and then. But before I could speculate on what the significance of this might mean I got distracted and dragged my brother over to a new stool.

"Isn't that your friend's father?" asked my brother. I looked to where he was gesturing and saw Choza standing to the side of a food stand selling dango and in a deep conversation with a fellow clans men.

"Hello Achimichi-sama," I said, greeting Choji's father with a bow.

"Ahh Nanami! It is good to see you," said the cheerful clan leader. "And this must be your brother?" The man looked down at us with a smile while I nodded and introduced him to Neji. After the pleasantries were done with, Choza reached over the dango stand and grabbed two sticks for Neji and me. We took the food with glee and thanked the man profusely.

"No trouble at all," Choza laughed merrily. "I suppose you are looking for your friends? Choji and Shikamaru left here hardly five minutes ago." The Akimichi monarch pointed us in the direction of the two boys and waved us off, returning to his conversation with his relative. We ate our food and went searching for the boys. Neji and I spotted the two of them standing at the edge of the road next to a line of trees that was hardly 100 yards from the edge of a huge lake. Sasuke was standing with them munching on some dumplings greedily. This meant that Sasuke didn't notice our approach and a wicked grin crossed my face as an idea came to mind. Neji gave me an apprehensive look as he knew what usually followed said expression would mean something unpleasant for whoever was on the receiving end. However, as long as it wasn't him, he wouldn't stop me.

"You look really nice today Sasuke-kun," I whispered into Sasuke's ear in an imitation of one of the young boys fan girls which had seemed to have started to collect. The young Uchiha jumped sky high and scurried away from me as fast as he could; dropping the food he had been eating. When he saw it was me his eyes narrowed into angry slits and he pouted in an annoyed fashion. Choji was stifling a laugh and Shikamaru was coughing heavily with his head turned the other way. I wasn't so subtle and out right laughed at his reaction.

"You're way too easy to wind up Sasuke," I sniggered with a wink in his direction.

"Hey shut up!" yelled the young boy.

When my laughter died down I turned back to the boy with a question. "Did you get Naruto to come like we asked?" Sasuke didn't answer, he just folded his armed and looked down at his fallen food regretfully.

"Yeah, Naruto's here," answered the lazy Nara for the Uchiha. "…somewhere." Before any of us could even blink a big ball of orange came charging into our mists. Naruto had been given an orange coloured festival mask by Sasuke to hide who he really was, but anyone that knew the boy personally would easily be able to tell that it was the nine tail jinchuuriki. Naruto lifted up his mask, which was appropriately that of a fox, and gave us a cheeky grin smoothed in chocolate and god only knew what else.

"Speak of the devil and the devil will appear," I muttered softly to myself, assessing Naruto's food covered face with amusement. I walked up to the boy and pulled out the napkin that Choji's dad had given me earlier with the dango and presented it to the boy with a raised eyebrow. He took the mask off completely and, grabbing the napkin, began to clear himself. In that moment I suddenly realized that Naruto didn't have a mum or a dad to mop up his face when it got messy, or bandage his knee when he fell over, or just in general look after him. Technically neither did Neji and I, but we had each other at least, and I was a grown woman who was currently repeating childhood for the second time round.

"Are you even allowed to be here?" said a voice from behind me, breaking me from my thoughts. I had forgotten my brother was with me, and turned around to watch him giving Naruto a look of clear disapproval.

"No," said Naruto, with a big chest. "But I've got a bet to pull through with and Uzumaki Naruto never goes back on his word! Believe it." He stood with a thumbs up in Neji's face and a huge, convincing grin on his face. Neji simply pushed the hand out of the way and raised his eyebrow in exactly the same way I had just done. This seemed to throw Naruto off. "Wow, that's scary. You look just like Nana when you do that," he mumbled scratching his head, "are you guys related?"

There was a silence of pure disbelief at Naruto's denseness. Fortunately Sasuke had brought himself out of his sulk and hit Naruto round the head. This seemed to make Sasuke feel better, but Naruto didn't understand why he had deserved it.

"He's my brother Naruto," I explained.

"Oh, you're called Naruto too?" the blond asked my brother, who looked at him with a dead expression.

"Neji," I correct.

"What's a Neji? Is it a new rude word?" Naruto asked excitedly.

"No, he's called Neji," I tried to reason.

"Oh, right, I get it!" Naruto said with a smile.

"Do you really?" I muttered darkly.

Neji, thank God, got us back onto the point at hand. "What bet?" he asked.

"Right, so you know I explained to you that I'm immune to genjutsu?" I confirmed and Neji nodded. "Well it was Shikamaru's theory but Naruto and Sasuke didn't believe him. So we made a bet ages ago and just recently we got it tested. Naruto and Sasuke obviously lost so today's the day Choji, Shikamaru and I are giving them their forfeit!" I explained with enthusiasm. Sasuke and Naruto looked like they had just eaten sour grapes at being reminded that they had lost. The two very competitive boys were the sorest losers I had ever met. I could have been gentle and saved their pride, but I knew it was more fun to push them to the limits.

Neji gave me a look that said he knew that whatever I had in mind was going to be unpleasant and he didn't want any part in it. So I gave him a get-out-of-jail-free card.

"Don't you have any of your own friends?" I remarked lightly. Neji, always the perfect Hyuuga, didn't even blink. Though I could have sworn I saw his eye twitch slightly.

"I know what you're trying to do Nana," he said blandly. He then glanced round at the faces of my friends and seemed to sigh lightly. "And it's working. I don't want any part in the trouble you are bound to cause." Neji turned on his heel and walked away.

"Aren't you going to convince me that what I'm going to do it a stupid?" My voice carried to him amused. He was running away; smart move.

"Whether I am here to witness it or not will not stop it from being stupid," he stated blandly, glancing back at us for only a moment, "My only request is that you don't drag me down with you." He rounded a corner and was gone.

"Fair request," I muttered to myself with a slight shrug. "Well, boys, Neji just signed your death warrant. He was probably the only chance of this not happening." I grinned wickedly and glanced at Shikamaru and Choji. Choji looked unsure but Shikamaru, I was surprised to see, looked positively excited at the idea – in other words he looked slightly less bored than usual.

About half an hour later two young boys could be seen running through Konoha's high street completely stark naked.

When we had announced the dare both boys had gone bright red and refused. I have to admit that it was a bit of a low blow, but I pulled out the 'back on your word' card for Naruto. He, of course, declared that he would go through with it and Sasuke, not wanting to be outdone by the 'blond idiot', went along with it as well.

So here we were hardly 10 minutes later, in Konoha's town centre, watching the two most competitive boys in existence run around in their birthday suits because we dared them to. Please, though, give us some credit. We weren't stupid enough to dare them to run through the festival with no clothes on because we knew that each and every one of us would probably die a very slow and painful death for thinking up the ridiculous stunt. So we decided to go to the town centre and with all the prestigious clans gathered together at the Uchiha district there was less of a chance of anyone of importance actually seeing the dare.

Of course civilians would see it happening, but very few of them ever actually got into contact with Konoha's elite shinobi so we were more or less safe. Theoretically.

It was only half a mile down the high street, but I was willing to bet that that felt a whole lot longer when you weren't wearing anything. I know what you are probably thinking; that I'm a bit weird for daring two young boys to do this. But, in actual fact, it was Shikamaru who came up with the idea.

I couldn't stop laughing at the scene before me. I was perched on a roof just off the end of the high street where the race would finish, and almost fell off once or twice because I was so hysterical. We weren't too cruel though as I had a change of clothes for both the boys so they could get dressed as quickly as possible when the race had ended. I had to hand it to them; they both really went for it. Neither tried to hid from the on lookers; both were just incredibly intent on their destination. There were quite a few shocked elderly women who screamed at the sight, and men who went to take a shot of sake but missed as they spied the two boys running past.

The people's reactions were brilliant and I just wished I had a camera. However, they were both two-thirds of the way down the street when I watched a certain silver haired jonin walk out of a bar just in front of the two boys. Neither of them seemed to think him significant and just by past him on both sides, not even glancing back to see his reaction. But I watched for a few more moments as his eyes widened and he blinked a few times in unrestrained shock. The man glanced down at the open book in his hand with a frown and closed it quickly and unforgivingly. He then, without hesitation, turned right back around and headed straight back into the bar.

At first I fangirled big time. I mean Kakashi! There was something about the man that was just… wow. When I had passed that milestone, I laughed. Hard. It was hilarious and I promised myself, should I ever become friends with the copy-nin, I would remind him of this occasion and reassure him he hadn't been hallucinating. Poor guy.

The boys finished their race without anything substantial happening and ran as quickly as they could into the alley way on the other side of the road, where they could hide and wait for me to deliver their clothes. The whole thing had been priceless and I would have bet that the two boys wouldn't be forgetting the whole experience for a while. A residual chuckle escaped my lips as I jumped down and landed in the middle of the road. I clutched the clothes to my chest and headed for the alley; giggling to myself every now and then.

When I had rounded the corner into the alley -a 'congratulations' on the tip of the tongue for the unfortunate pair- something tumbled into me and brought me to the ground. Naruto, still undressed, looked at me with shock and went a very nice colour of crimson. Before I could blink he had jumped up and snatched his clothing from my grasp. He jumped into the shorts as quickly as humanly possible and then ran. Very, very fast.

"See you at school," shouted the blond over his shoulder, and I was left standing there with a feeling as if I was missing something. That was, until I turned around and saw what Naruto was running from.

Uchiha Itachi stood behind his brother with a very disapproving look on his face. It was very similar to the expression on Neji's face when he thought I was doing something socially unacceptable. Sasuke just stood facing me with his hands covering his private parts and his head bowed in embarrassment and shame. Looking back at the situation I feel really bad for my reaction, but I genuinely couldn't help it. The whole thing was just ridiculous.

So I laughed. Actually I didn't just laugh; I more bent over laughing hysterically at the hilarity of the situation. I had tears streaming down my face and I clutched my stomach as it began to hurt from the simple act of laughing and laughing and_ oh please stop its killing me._ After a few minutes of this, I looked back up to the two brothers. Sasuke looked extremely mortified at my reaction and I took pity on the poor boy and threw him his clothes, which he very quickly got changed into. However, when I looked back over to the older Uchiha and saw, once again, how unamused he was at the situation. Well, I just cracked up laughing again. This time I clutched the wall and slid down it into a sitting position where I could safely cradle my stomach muscles as they mercilessly contracted.

"Sasuke?" question Itachi in a low voice.

"Yes nii-san?" Sasuke's voice was considerable higher and squeaked slightly in fear.

"What were you doing?" I calmed down enough to look up and saw Itachi glance at me with a raised eyebrow. And… I lost it. A laughed escaped from my lips and tears returned to my eyes. I was breaching on hysterical at this point but it was so. Dam. Funny!

"Nana!" shouted Sasuke with a pout, "stop laughing!" This just made me laugh harder. I couldn't remember laughing like this ever before in this life and it felt good to just let it all go. I wasn't allowed to let myself go like this in the confines of the compound, but I didn't see what a problem about letting go here.

"Sasuke," spoke Itachi over my loud chuckles.

"I lost a bet," murmured the boy at his feet.

"Ahh… I should tell father about this," said the elder with a disinterested air.

"No!" Sasuke and I shouted at the same time. I stood up shakily and held onto the wall with an unsteady hand. Giggles still escaped from lips every now and again, but apart from that I sounded rather sane. Apart from the smirk I seemed to be unable to remove from my face.

"Please don't tell! That's not fair!" I argued, pushing off the wall and standing my ground.

"Oh?" asked Itachi without emotion. His bored expression would probably have intimidated most, but I was very used to such reactions. I could see the amusement playing across his face, even if he thought it was hidden. "And why is it not fair?"

"Because…" I said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, "it's not Sasuke's fault."

Itachi looked at me for a moment and then gave a perfectly logical reply, "Sasuke choose to run naked through the town. You didn't make him."

"But I dared him. You have met your little brother haven't you? He's not exactly going to say no," I said matter of fact. I ignored Sasuke's indigent protest at my mockery of him.

"True. So if it's not his fault then it must be yours," Itachi summarised in a blank tone; glancing at his nails.

"I suppose," I said confidently with a look that dared him to challenge me. I saw Sasuke face palm as my supposed idiocy. I was going with the theory that although this boy was technically ANBU he wouldn't actually do anything harmful to a little kid. He didn't react to this apart from with an amused expression which clearly mocked my attempt to stand up for myself. But behind his amusement I caught a glimmer of curiosity and he studied me as if I was an interesting piece of art work.

I found the whole situation rather funny but that amusement soon fled when I caught a flicker of red in the older boy's eyes, but it was gone before I could really even notice it. A sudden feeling of dejavu shot through me and I felt that I was forgetting something crucial. Seeing the flicker of sharingan had sobered my thoughts and I frowned in dismay. Before I could react however, there was a commotion at the entrance to the ally and I turned to see Shikamaru and Choji enter. Both were talking animatedly, but I couldn't find the will power to call out to them. When I glanced back to the two brothers I found Sasuke now standing alone with a sour look on his face.

"Dam, he will never let me live this down," muttered the boy, mostly to himself.

Following that I was more subdued. We all walked back to the festival together and were in time to see the fireworks and have a toffee apple each. But the weight of something important was pressing on my shoulder and I couldn't enjoy myself. Neji came and found me but didn't say a word. Sometimes, when it came to me, he liked to play the card 'ignorance is bliss'. I told him anyway and laughed at the same disapproving expression that cross Neji's face just like Itachi's.

Just before we left for the evening I caught sight of Sasuke helping a relative pack up their stool. I approached him warily and frowned as a feeling of uncertainty crept into my bones.

"Hey Sasuke," I said slowly. "About today…" I didn't have time to finish the sentence as his relative interrupted.

"And Sasuke, who might your little friend be?" asked the rather large lady politely. Sasuke looked at me blandly with a simple glare that blamed me for all his problems in his life. I just grinned back. Introductions were made between myself and his aunt and I smiled sweetly up at the cooing Uchiha.

"Aww, look at him. Talking to a girl. You're a big grown up nine year old now Sasuke, so you better be sensible," his aunt gave him a significant look and for the hundredth time that day Sasuke blushed brightly. But I wasn't paying attention to this because it felt as if a lead brick had made itself comfortable inside my belly. From that moment on nothing else really mattered and I just went on automatic mode. Sasuke sensed my mood change but didn't question it as he was eager to see me go and for me to not mention that afternoon's little adventure within hearing distance of his relatives. Soon enough I said my goodbyes and walked back home in silence next to Neji. My brother kept glancing at me unsurely, but I ventured no explanation and so he didn't ask.

When I got back home I went straight into my room and closed the door quietly and gently. However, I didn't climb into bed or go to change my clothes. Instead I headed for the floorboard under my dressing table and pulled out the old notebook. I hadn't looked at this since before school had started when I was five years old.

It wasn't that I had forgotten that I was once from a different world, it was just that it didn't directly affect me. I got lost in my second life; forgetting that I had foreknowledge. Or rather I hadn't forgotten; I had just tried not to remember.

I slipped to the page I had written about Sasuke and skimmed through the facts quickly, and I soon found what I was looking for. I closed my eyes in horror and realization. I had forgotten. I had completely and utterly forgotten about the Uchiha massacre. I knew… no I was positive, that the event took place when Sasuke was 8 and Itachi was 13.

Sasuke was currently 9; that was what his aunt had said.

That meant that, for some unknown reason, the Uchiha massacre hadn't taken place. I couldn't even fathom the idea that something had changed so radically that the massacre, one of the most significant events in the history of Konoha, hadn't taken place. And if my guess was correct, I would say that it would never take place. The tensions between the Uchiha clan and the rest of the village had always been very high, but going to the festival today I noticed that people seemed much more relaxed.

The festival, had the massacre have happened, wouldn't have taken place. Therefore for whatever reason the genocidal event was delayed, and this meant that there was extra time for the Uchiha clan to mend its relationship between them and the rest of the village. It was a small change but it would seem that this could make all the difference. The straw that broke the camel's back, that caused Itachi to have to follow through with killing his entire family, hadn't been placed.

Apparently the outcome of the massacre was like a seesaw right up until the last moment; tipping either towards destruction or salvation. The only thing that changed was my presence in this universe and this meant that instead of tipping towards destruction it had tipped towards salvation.

I remembered something then from my previous life. The chaos theory. About the guy who founded it by rounding up one decimal place, a 1,000,000th of a number, and this resulted in a huge long term change. The domino effect. The butterfly effect.

One small change, like accidently standing on a butterfly which would have been eaten by a bird had it not been killed, stopping the bird from dying of hunger, which would have gotten a new strain of bird flu and then been eaten by a fox, who then attacked a young child, who caught the bird flu and gave it his family, who gave it to their village, who then gave it to the world and this one virus resulted in the extinction of the human race!

And because the butterfly had been killed the world didn't end. Okay, bit of an extreme and highly unlikely example, but you get the idea.

So I must have stood on a butterfly. No, more like I had stamped on it repetitively over and over to make sure it was definitely, very, extremely dead. And because of my mere existence and the tiny change it had made; it meant that the Uchiha massacre hadn't taken place.

The bloody Uchiha massacre; the catalyst that could be linked to just about everything that was going to go wrong in this world, hadn't happened.

Oh my God. What had I done?

**Hello everybody! So I really just wanted to get another chapter out before the Easter holidays which is why this is a little earlier then usual. I loved writing this chapter because of all the situations the characters are placed in. I would love to hear what you think about Neji's thoughts, the Uchiha twist and also the dare the boys had to do! I'm sorry for any grammatical errors, please forgive me. Thank you for everyone who has reviewed my story; I read and appreciate every single one of them. When I see I have a review I get all excited and they always make me smile! So, until next time! :D**

**P.S. I changed the summary of the story to try and reel more people in. Please tell me what you think; your comments and suggestions would be appreciated!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Stamping on Butterflies**

Chapter 8

"_Sometimes good things fall apart so better things can fall together." - Marilyn Monroe _

"_I like to call in sick to work at places where I've never held a job. Then when the manager tells me I don't work there, I tell them I'd like to. But not today, as I'm sick." -Jarod Kintz, This Book is Not for Sale_

So I freaked out about the massacre. I hardly spoke to anyone for a few weeks as I was scared of what I might change simply by saying good morning to someone. What would happen if Neji was suddenly killed by a rabid dog? Or Shikamaru hit his head and suddenly became really stupid? What if Choji decided he was going to lose weight!? I couldn't handle the immense pressure that came with knowing exactly your effect on the world around you. I knew I had made a few changes before but knowing that the massacre didn't happen simply because of my existence was really difficult to try and get your head around.

Thank God, though, I managed to get over it pretty quickly. It was thanks to Shikamaru and his complete lack of caring about anything that made me see the bigger picture. It was shortly after my ninth birthday when Choji, Kiba, Shikamaru and Naruto made a runner from school. It was a scorching hot day where hardly anyone was paying attention; the five of us especially. Shikamaru had his head on the desk and I kept pocking him with my pen every time Iruka-sensei said the word 'chakra'. Shikamaru, of course, had gotten the skill of completely ignoring me down to a tee. I would say that it was insulting, but it just made the challenge of winding him up that much more entertaining.

Choji was on Shikamaru's other side and obviously bored stiff. Naruto and Kiba were in the seats behind us flicking bits of rubber at the rest of the class; that is to say they were flicking rubber at Sasuke. Sasuke pretended that he didn't notice and tried to focus on the teacher as must as possible, but I could see a very slight vain popping on his forehead. Kiba had a little puppy sitting by his side, wagging his tail in merriment at the two boy's antics. As far as I knew Kiba had only recently received Akamaru but they were as thick as thieves already.

Soon enough I gave up on pocking the Nara as my heart wasn't really into the normally time consuming activity. The worry over changing the world was still heavy on my shoulders and I didn't want to irreversibly agitate the boy.

My lazy friend raised his head from the desk when I stopped prodding him and gave me a questioning look, surprised that I had given up so quickly. Funny thing was that when it came to working or strategizing I couldn't concentrate for more than 10 minutes, but give me the task of tormenting my fellow class mate and I could do it all day with no breaks. I just shrugged and put my head on my hand, avoiding eye contact and pretending to listen to the lecture. I knew I was acting weird to my normal self but I couldn't help but have this paralyzing fear that the world was going to end.

I tried to ignore Shikamaru's calculating look but after a full three minutes of constant staring I started to feel uncomfortable. I glanced back at the boy in question but looked away almost immediately. It was then that it seemed that Shikamaru made a decision. He nodded to himself and then leaned back in his seat to talk to the boys behind him. Naruto, Kiba and Shikamaru were deep in conversation and before long Choji joined in as well. I'm not going to lie; I felt left out. But with the fate of the world hanging on the tip of my decisions, I decided to just stay out of whatever concoction they were making up.

It was five minutes later when Kiba put his hand up and asked to be excused to go to the toilet. As he passed me he glanced my way and gave me a smirk and a mischievous wink. Dread instantly filled my stomach. What did they have planned? I sat on my seat wringing my hands in curiosity; hardly able to contain myself. I managed to but barely. I tried my best not to look over to the other boys but failed miserably. When I snuck a glance I saw Shikamaru sitting there with a very satisfied smirk on his face. Choji looked concerned but Naruto looked positively ecstatic.

It wasn't until Kiba got back that I finally realized why. The boy walked into the classroom with his hands held in front of him, clasped together as if he were holding a small object he didn't want anyone to see. I suddenly became very uneasy as I watched the young Inuzuka walk up the aisle. As the boy got closer and closer to me an evil grin spread across his face and when he was hardly a few feet away from me he tripped.

What then proceeded to come flying out of his hands was a huge, black eight legged spider. So big in fact that you could clearly see the hairs on its legs and its multiple eyes. And it landed right in front of me on my desk. I let out an ear splitting scream which people in the middle of snow-country could probably hear. The spider began to frantically scuttle around my desk and for some unknown reason came straight for me. I couldn't move fast enough and jumped out of my chair, overturning a number of tables and scattering all my work all over the floor. Even my beloved book for the day found its way mercilessly flying to the other side of the room, but I couldn't care less.

The spider had disappeared. I started to breathe deeply and tears welded up in my eyes and were soon streaming down my face. It is safe to say I hadn't cried for anything at all since the night of receiving the curse seal, but my one weakness in the whole entirety of the world was, yeah you've guessed it; Spiders. I didn't know where the thing was and I began to look around frantically; shaking slightly in fear. It was when I felt something small and tickly brush against my leg I completely lost it.

I screamed once more and made a dive for the open window on the other side of Shikamaru. I jumped on the desk and out the window before anyone could say Konohagukure and was gone with the wind, crying the whole way.

Now, there's something I haven't mentioned yet that I feel would be important to give as some background context to my obvious over reaction at this point, and also how my friends knew of my biggest weakness. It was a few years ago on a rainy day when we were cooped up inside and had nothing to do. Choji and I were at Shikamaru's place, lounging around and wasting away the hours as only children can. We were playing Shoji, as always, when I had accidently placed my elbow on the edge of the board and the pieces were scattered everywhere. So we three went around a picked them up. One of the pieced, however, had rolled underneath a chest of draws and so I went to retrieve it. That was until I saw a little spider dangling from the corner of the cabinet.

Don't worry I didn't go berserk, but I did refuse to fetch the piece of the Shoji board. Shikamaru resentfully moved to collect the piece but at the same time he also picked up the spider. I went and hid behind the Akimichi heir and all Shikamaru did was raise his eyebrow at my reaction. But the Nara heir wasn't one to preach about being 'the perfect Ninja' and not having fears, so he dropped it and never brought it up again. So I thought I had nothing to worry about. But one thing one must always take into consideration when dealing with a genius like Shikamaru is that he never, ever forgets anything. Ever.

After thoroughly ensuring that the spider was not on me and calming down considerably, I found myself wondering aimlessly through the streets of the hidden leaf village. I was slightly embarrassed by my slight over reaction but it was one of those things that you just couldn't help. Everyone had that one little thing and unfortunately mine consisted of hairy eight legged monsters.

I looked down and put my hands in my pockets in shame. A ninja shouldn't react like that to something so small. Actually, an adult shouldn't react so over the top to something so small, and even though the world considered me a child I knew better and was ashamed. Not only this but the butterfly affect was still sitting, mockingly in the back of my mind; judging my every little movement. So there I was wallowing in self-pity, not looking where I was going, when I went head first into someone else. I was knocked back onto the floor and landed painfully on my bottom. The person who I had walked into didn't even seem to hardly notice that I had just crashed into them and remained standing.

I looked up at said person with a hand on my head and a slight blush gracing my features. This just wasn't my day. The sun was obscuring the man face but I could make out that he was tall, stocky and dressed in a heavy trench coat. I began to stutter apologies as I got to my feet and the only indication that the man even heard me was a slight inclination of the head. When I squinted up at the man I could make out a number of scars on his face and I found his eyes intensely staring back into mine. I didn't finch away from the man's eye contact but instead looked back at him with a politely interested air. Something in the back on my mind told me that I should recognise who this was.

"Hyuuga Nanami. Shouldn't you be in school?" questioned the man with amusement in a deep, rumbling voice.

"Yes," was my simple reply. "But due to unprecedented issues arising within the classroom I felt it prudent to remove myself from the situation. Do you mind if I ask who you are?" I tilted my head in childish curiosity. _I know who this is but…_

"Morino Ibiki," he stated._ Ahh..._ My insides squirmed at meeting the torture genius but I tried my hardest to feign polite interest."By the look on your face I can tell that you know who I am."

_Looks like I didn't pull 'polite' off_, I thought sourly.

His face remained stoic but his eyes told a different story; he was laughing at me. I felt very small and childish so I looked down to my feet and pursed my lips. I didn't like being out done. But then again Ibiki was a master manipulator so it wasn't too bad being caught out by the best. "You can't get anything past me; I can read people like a book. But I'll admit that you're good kid."

He paused and studied me again intensely. I had the feeling that he was looking into my soul and did my best not to wriggle under his look. What he next said, however, greatly surprised me. "Hiashi was right; you'll be perfect."

"Perfect?" I questioned reluctantly.

"Funny we ran into each other today really. I think we should start our training soon." He gave me one last glance and left. I was beyond confused and tried my hardest to dismiss the odd encounter. If it was important I would find out. During our interaction I had completely forgotten about my pity party, but it came back in full fledge as I realized that I had once again interacted with key player in Konoha's society. I felt sick.

So after being left standing in the dust of the best torture and investigation specialist in the whole of Konoha, I continued my wondering. But this time my shoulders were slumped lower and my heart felt heavier. _Maybe by interacting with Ibiki I've resulted in the early retirement of the third and so Danzo is going to become Hokage and life as we knew it will end._

Eventually I ended up in the children's play park. I had never really ventured to the park much. When I was younger my clansmen didn't deem it a proper activity to take part in and so no one ever took me. My friendship with Shikamaru and Choji wasn't exactly active and so there wasn't much of a chance of dragging either of them to a recreational area which would probably involve running. I easily found a seat in the middle of the park on one of the rusty swings and so I sat slumped and depressed.

It was hardly 15 minutes later when the four boys who were the reason I was no long in school found me. Apparently as soon as I had left the room they all thought it was a marvellous idea to follow me and all that I can assume is that chaos ensued within the academy classroom and Iruka-sensei screamed himself raw. I sensed their presence behind me but I pretended I didn't know they were there. I was still sour from them throwing a spider in my direction.

"I've never seen Nana move so fast before," whispered Kiba with slight awe.

"Are you sure she'll be alright? I've never seen Nana cry before," muttered Naruto with guilt.

"Shut up idiot she can hear us," snarled an obviously irate Shikamaru.

I heard someone come up behind me and then move to sit on the seat to my right. When I looked to see who it was I found the young Akimichi sat with his head bowed and a quivering lip. Choji really was a good friend.

"We're sorry Nana, we didn't think you would react so badly," whimpered the little boy. Choji was extremely loyal and kind and the idea for him of hurting one of his friends was the worst thing in the world.

"It's okay," I mumble sniffing slightly. I looked away and from him and coughed to cover up my embarrassment in being caught in such a vulnerable situation.

"Aww don't be like that Nana! I was just a joke!" Kiba came up behind me and put his arm on my shoulder. "It was just an itty-bitty spider." He was mocking me and I would not have that. I grabbed onto the boys hand tightly and pulled hard. Kiba went flying over my shoulder and landing in a pile of bones at my feet. Akamaru landed on the boy's stomach and began yapping at me, but I ignored the pup. I gave Kiba a very dry looked that said if he wanted to mock me he should do it only at his own peril. I think he got the message as he didn't bring it up again.

"You deserved that!" Naruto laughed and jogged around me to stand and laugh at Kiba's predicament. "You got beaten up by a girl!" Naruto held his stomach and cried with laughter. Kiba was on his feet in moments, shouting straight back into the blonds face.

"I seemed to remember on many occasion in spars at school that Nana beat the hell out of you so you can hardly talk," growled the Inuzuka, raising his fists threateningly.

"It doesn't matter who beat me, I'm still going to be Hokage one day! Believe it!" shouted Naruto in return, also raising his fists.

While the two boys fought Shikamaru came and stood between me and Choji. I knew that the spider idea had come from the Nara as he would have been the only one capable of making the plan and putting all the pieces together. But just like in Shoji he could react to a situation perfectly, putting the right piece in place to counteract the opponents move, but he couldn't predict what the play was going to do next. He was getting much better at it but he was not yet good enough to have been able to predict how absolutely berserk I would go at a simple spider.

"I'm sorry," muttered the boy. "I didn't think that…" I glanced up at the boy and he turned his head away from me. "I miss calculated." Shikamaru was a genius and so, often with geniuses, they didn't like to fail. So Shikamaru had the idea that if he just didn't try it wouldn't matter if he failed. But he was so sure that it would just be a simple practical joke; throwing a spider at me.

So he was right; he miscalculated.

Shikamaru didn't give out his loyalty as easily as Choji, but when he did he gave his all to protect his friends. I couldn't stay angry at the boy so instead of a glare I opted for a small smile. "Just don't do it again," I said with mirth.

He glanced at me and gave a very serious nod in my direction. It was all sorted between us but it would seem that the whole of the class would now be aware of my biggest fear. However, because Naruto was the biggest practical joker in the class I didn't really have anything to worry about. I knew from the guilty expression on his face he wouldn't try anything like that again. So I was safe; for now.

We spent the rest of the afternoon in the park playing and having fun. But I couldn't enjoy myself to the full. I was still hesitant to say anything too big or cause any problems that could result in huge changes. It was ridiculous and I was getting irritated. But every time I let go I suddenly had this feeling of dread in my stomach, like when I realized that the massacre hadn't happened, and my mood would dropped considerably.

Later, when Naruto, Kiba and Choji had left, Shikamaru and I sat on hill overlooking the park cloud watching together in companionable silence.

"So what's gotten you so melancholy?" Shikamaru asked casually

"What do you mean, I'm fine," I defended but my friend looked doubtful at my quick reply.

"You're pretty convincing but I know you're lying." The young boy stared me down and I was the first to look away. "I thought that maybe the spider would snap you out of whatever had gotten you so depressed recently."

"And look how that turned out," I said mockingly. I saw the young boy finch and felt instantly guilty. "Look it's just that..." I sighed and thought that maybe I should tell the boy something. I couldn't tell him about the massacre and my effect on the world, but I could tell my friend something else that had been bothering me. "I've got an arranged marriage."

I looked over to the young Nara and found him looked back at me with unrestrained shock. He quickly relaxed and nodded to himself saying "that makes sense."

"Does it really?" I asked sceptically.

"Well, sure. You're an anomaly in your clan. They would want to exploit this," stated the Nara in a matter of fact voice. I grunted in conformation but didn't give him anything else. "Man, I don't know what I would do if I was in an arranged marriage. It would be so troublesome. But that's not everything though is it?" Shikamaru crossed his arms in a casual position and took a deep breath as if he was preparing to do something that would take a lot of effort and which he would rather not do.

"No," I answered truthfully. "It's just that I keep thinking that had I acted differently or done something differently or talked to different people then I would be marrying someone else or no one at all. That my life has already been planned out and that it could have been down to one simple action. That every action I do could cause something else. And now I can't stop thinking about what else I must be affecting and that I could inadvertently cause the 4th Shinobi war." I stopped myself and looked back up to the sky in shock. Well I hadn't been planning on saying that much but that pretty much covered all my angst and anxiety over the past few weeks.

Shikamaru gave a small cough supposed to cover up a laugh. "Don't worry about it. Everyone else is in the same boat," said the Lazy Nara, watching the sky drearily and smiling slightly.

"And why is that funny?" I asked defensively.

"Because it's a ridiculous thing to worry about," scoffed the young boy. "You can't live your life worrying over every tiny detail. That's how neuroses are formed."

"You just don't get it," I mumbled, angry at my worries being dismissed.

"I get it Nana and it's a valid worry. But what's the point? Just resign yourself to affecting the world around you, but if you're that upset about it then just try your best to make positive differences." Shikamaru closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"Positive things, huh?"

"Yeah, so you could become a diplomat and increase relations between villages."

"That would be a lot of pressure."

"Look at the Hokage. His decisions determine the outcome of whether the village hidden in the leaves will be prosperous or not. He could decide to exterminate a whole clan. He has a huge active say in what happens. Therefore, why should we care about the little differences we might cause." Shikamaru and I stayed lying and staring up at the clouds. A small smile graced my lips as I glanced over at my genius friend.

The Nara opened his eyes and slowly stood up but I remained lying down, thinking on his words. "It's getting late and I need to head home. Man I hope my old man hasn't found out about skipping school. That would be troublesome." He waved at me and began to leave but I stood up quickly and stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.

"Thank you," I said gently. And I really meant it. For some reason all the weight that had been on my shoulders had been lifted. Shikamaru was right; I was being silly. I saw a light blush flicker across his checks as he rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. Shikamaru wasn't good with showings of emotions, but I really needed to convey to him my gratitude.

"That's fine. Down worry about it." He moved away from me and gave a wave over his shoulder once again. "See you," he called out.

I found myself smiling as I watched my friend retreat. Although this was a scary, crazy world I had landed myself in I realized, in that moment, that I was surrounded by some really amazing people who cared for me as much as I cared for them.

I started singing an old song to myself, one from another life time. "…Whatever will be, will be," I muttered in English. The language felt weird on my tongue but somehow it felt elating to say these words once again. Whatever would be would be and there was very little I could do about it.

!

Later, when I returned home with a much lighter heart I was called into my father's study. I had an inclination about why he wanted to speak to me and so prepared myself to explain my actions at school today. However, when I walked into the study and saw Ibiki sitting and sharing a cup of tea with my father my mind completely blanked.

"Nanami," my father nodded to me. "You have met Morino-san before I believe. Today, in fact, when you were skipping school."

I attempted to stutter out a legible reply but was cut off. "I do not care for your excuses. You were not called here to discuss the matter. We have decided that you will begin to work with Morino-san and train to one day become a member of the torture and interrogation unit."

Straight to the point as always. I really should have seen this coming, and I am ashamed to say that I didn't have the slightest inclination that this could happen. I felt really stupid.

"You are to come to the Hokage tower tomorrow after school and I will instruct you on how you are to spend your time while at the academy to prepare you for your future career," Ibiki stated blandly. Hiashi and Ibiki then went back to the conversation they had been having before I had entered the room. I took this as my cue to leave and, as if in a dream, made way back to my room. I was to be a part of Torture and interrogation? It was the craziest thing I had heard all week. If I hadn't have had that conversation with Shikamaru that afternoon then I would have probably been freaking out.

!

So the next day I entered the Hokage tower and looked around for someone to point me in the right direction. That's when a sudden bout of dizziness hit me and abruptly, without warning, I fell to the ground and passed out.

When I awoke I found myself sitting in an empty room save for two metal chairs, a table and a mirror on the far wall. There were a few blood stains on the white wash walls and floors. This was obviously an interrogation room and I swallowed involuntary. I got up from the floor and walked over to try the door. It was, of course, locked. _Worth a shot though,_ I thought with false bravado.

I went over to the table and chair and sat on the one facing the mirror. I was almost certain that there was someone behind the mirror observing me and this thought made me shiver. To calm myself from the creeping sense of forbidding I took a few breaths and began to think logically about the situation. I figured that they would have to make psychoanalysis of me before they would allow me to join the T&I department. The training was important but you needed to have the right mental capacity to work in such a ruthless environment. But knocking me out and having me wake up in a scary room was a little over the top.

I was kind of scared but if I looked at it as a kind of game the over ruling emotion was anticipation. And so, bottling up any sane thoughts, I began to feel excitement to see what they had planned. As I blocked out these thoughts I felt like a bit of a masochist as I sat there wondering with amusement what type of psychological testing they would throw at me. Maybe this really was the department for me if I could so easily lock away any emotion attachment to such a situation. I felt a small smile make its way onto my lips as I slouched back into the chair and crossed my arms comfortable. I entertained the idea of putting my feel up on the table, but it was too tall for that.

I had been sitting in the room for about half an hour when someone finally entered and took the seat opposite me on the table. He wasn't anyone I recognised but I quickly picked up that they were under a henge. It might be Ibiki or he might be standing on the other side of the glass. Whether I failed this test or not I decided I was going to have some fun.

"You know that I am only eight years old and that this is rather intimidating, right?" I asked the man sceptically.

The man leaned forward on the table, placed his hand together and gave me the most condescending look he could probably muster.

"Do you know why you are here?" asked the man.

"Are you asking me that question because you don't know the answer?" I asked with a disapproving look. The only reaction from the man was that he blinked a few times.

"You are here because you've had a psychotic break down," said the man gently. I paused for a moment and looked down in thought. So this was their game? It was rather… weak. I wouldn't believe it if it wasn't taking place right in front of me. I glanced back up at the guy and found him to be looking at me politely. And where had they found this guy? I could tell he was on edge and alert which in turn made me believe him even less – not that I was inclined to believe that I had a psychotic breakdown, but he could have been slightly more convincing.

"Where is here?" I replied, deciding to humour him.

"In a secure location where you are safe. A place for people like you."

"So a crazy home?"

"I would call it a mental recuperation centre," answered the man neutrally.

"And I'm here because I had a mental breakdown?"

"Correct."

"Right…" I said with a calculating look. "Although this is a completely plausible reason why I might be here I don't believe you. I would like to say that if I ended up in a psycho-hospital it would be because I claimed to be God or something." I gave the man an extremely serious expression and mirrored his position on the table. I gave him a condescending look that matched his own and smiled. "So how does it feel to be in the presence of a God?" I asked off handily. This threw the man off and he sat back slightly, straightening up, but he skilfully kept a straight face. I gave him an amused expression before copying his movement.

"You believe you are a God?" asked the man with a raised eyebrow.

I raised my eyebrow as well. "No but if you're saying I went crazy I would want it to be for something other than a mental break down. So I'm going to say that I am a God," I crossed my armed over my chest and watched as the man did exactly the same thing. He then caught himself doing it and placed his hands on his legs instead.

"So you believe you are superior to other humans?" questioned the man in the same gentle tone that was really starting to grate on my nerves.

"Of course not!" I replied, outraged.

"But Gods are more superior aren't they? Therefore you must consider yourself above others."

"As a God I created the world. So I have to respect each of the creations and see them as equals. That's what a good ruler does, right?" It was a rhetorical question but he nodded anyway.

"So you remember creating the world then?"

"Don't be ridiculous I didn't create the world," I stated as if the man was stupid.

"But you just claimed to be God," counted the man.

"I may claim to be God but that doesn't mean I actually am God. You're very gullible aren't you?" I looked down at my nails and examined them, ignoring the other person in the room.

We sat in silence for a few minutes until my stomach grumbled. "Curiously, how long have I been here? I'm hungry."

"You have been here for three years," said the man. Was this guy for real?

"Oh, so not only did I have a psychotic break down, but I also have memory loss," I stated dryly. "I'm Penelope by the way. What's your name?"

"Your name is not Penelope, it is Nanami. I am Jonjo," said the man stoically. He was lying, I could tell.

"No it isn't. What's your real name?" I asked, tilting my head to the side. He gave no reply and I signed dejectedly. "Well, whatever. Can I go now?"

"You cannot go but I will get you some food if you admit that you are in a mental recuperation centre and need help to recover from your mental condition."

"That's a fair compromise. However, I thought we already agreed that I had memory loss and therefore must completely take your word for it. But if that's what you say then sure then I admit that I am currently in a mental hospital and I need help. Do you take orders? Can I have ramen?"

The man looked at me, stood up and left. I watched him go with a smile and rested my chin on the table. A small giggle escaped my lips when I was alone. Hardly 2 minutes later Ibiki walked in followed by a young boy a couple of years older than me. He had sandy coloured hair and blank face.

"You would be surprised how many people we manage to convince that they are crazy," said Morino, taking a seat. The boy just stood by the door and stared at me with slight resentment. I couldn't understand why and so decided to ignore him.

"Technically she failed the test because she did admit she was crazy," said the boy, looking at me with cold distain, as if I was something nasty he had accidently stepped in.

"What's your problem?" I asked with a pout and a frown. He graced me with an uninterested look and began to study the wall. It seemed that I wasn't worth his acknowledgement. Suck up prick.

"Now now, calm down. She more than passed the test," said Ibiki, smiling at me with amusement.

"So people actually fall for that? Are you joking?" I snorted disbelievingly.

"Well, considering your age we dumbed it down a lot." Ibiki gave another smile but this time the expression on his face was more sadistic than amused. I held back a shiver as I could only imagine what they did to adults who went through the T&I test. It was one of those moments when I was glad to still be a kid. "Well then, I suppose I should tell you where you'll be going from here."

Ibiki pulled out a file from his leather trench coat and laid it on the table; sliding it across to me lazily. I picked up the file, opened it and was unsurprised to see that it was my very own. I studied it for a few moments before closing it once again. There was nothing in there I didn't already know and they actually had less information on me than I thought they might. They knew nothing of my training within my clan or my curse-seal. It wasn't until that moment that I realised how closely guarded the clans actually were with their members, and I suddenly became acutely aware of the seal on the back of my neck. _None more than the Hyuuga,_ I thought sombrely.

"We've had you pinned for a while now as a possible T&I interrogator," spoke Ibiki seriously.

"I'm still a child," I mumbled with a raised eyebrow at the torture genius.

"How odd that you have this perception of childhood when you were raised in a hidden village which trains you from birth to learn how to kill and be killed for your villages," stated the man in a casual manor.

"Touché," I muttered.

"You will not begin proper work for our department until you have graduated. We might speed the process up though."

"I thought that only happened in times of war?"

"Or if someone particularly talented comes along," said the man with an appraising look in my direction. I heard a snort come from the corner of the room where the boy was standing.

"Hardly talented," said the boy with a sneer.

"Pouty-pants over there has a point," I said, brushing the insult away with practised ease. The fact that I had agreed with the boy seemed to make him dislike me even more.

"We have had many reports of your particular skills both in and outside the academy. At school you are above average, normally not enough to grant you early graduation, but academia for a Ninja is hardly the most important. Like I said, you've been pinned for this position for years now. Not every day is a Hyuuga born without a Byakugan, and any that are born without your clan's kekkei genkai seemed to have followed the trend of interrogation genius. You may have duties to your clan but you also have a duty to your village. I can tell this is where you were meant to be. Not to mention your dry humour will allow you to last a very long time in our wicked profession." He gave me a toothy grin that was anything but inviting.

"Besides, you are needed," Ibiki leaned forward on the table and placed his hands together. His face had changed quickly to one which was deadly serious and I sat a bit straighter unconsciously.

"Needed how?" I asked but not really wanting to know the answer. At this, however, Ibiki smiled once again.

Ibiki looked over to the sandy haired boy and beckoned him to stand forward. The boy sneered at me, but did what Ibiki said, and I just stuck my tongue out in return. "Now now children, play nice. Nanami, I would like you to meet Yoda; your team mate and partner for, probably, the rest of your ninja career." At Ibiki's words my mind blanked.

I looked to the boy, to Ibiki, and back to the boy. Two things were going through my head in that moment. One was that I was going to be stuck with this boy for a long time and that neither of us had really gotten off on the right foot. Two was that he was called Yoda. Yoda… as in Yoda? The star wars character Yoda. The little green elf thing. Yoda.

"Yoda… Yoda… you're called… Yoda?" I couldn't hide the disbelief or the amusement in my voice.

"Don't laugh at me!" hissed the boy.

"Okay… Yoda," I said snuffling a laugh.

"If you find it so funny come over here and say that you," said the boy.

"Whatever you say… Yoda," I laugh burst through my lips and the boy took a step forward in agitation.

"Hold yourself together. If you find such a thing difficult maybe you should reconsider your career as a shinobi."

"Don't you mean jedi!" I burst out laughing uncontrollably at my own joke. Oh man, the most disappointing thing was that no one else in this world would ever appreciate the hilarity of the situation.

"I do not understand," said the boy looking affronted at my laughter. "Why is she laughing?" He turned to Ibiki who shrugged his shoulders in return.

"You both have social issues to work through I suppose," said the torture specialist. My laughter calmed down in the back of my throat and I looked at the boy in question with a smile.

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to upset you," I said, a giggle desperately trying to escape but I held it back with all my will power. Yoda didn't take my apology seriously and seemed to think I was still mocking him, and so he turned his back to me and raised his nose in the air proudly.

"I don't understand though," I said turning to Ibiki. "Why am I going to work with… Yoda?" I held back the laugh expertly and felt proud of myself.

"You see Yoda cannot engage with people on an emotional level because of his upbringing," Ibiki explained seriously. Yoda's head snapped round to Ibiki and looked sharply at the elder man. Ibiki just looked back at him unflinchingly. "I do not joke when I say that you shall be working together for a long time to come. She will need to know sooner rather than later," he said with a straight face. Ibiki then went on. "He was in a section of ANBU which specializes in unemotional operates, but he was too emotional to remain in their charge. With all his skill we claimed him for our own, but have found that although he can interrogate people on a physical level, he cannot in turn affect them on a psychological and emotional level as he hasn't got very much emotional empathy. Something that is key in interrogation; you need to be able to understand what the other person is thinking.

"This is where you will come in. A lot of the time it is difficult to be good at both mental and physical interrogation anyway as both need a different mind-set to achieve; and switching between the mind-sets can lead to all sorts of problems in multi-personality disorder or bi-polar. Therefore it is not infrequent for interrogation specialists to partner up and have one as a physical interrogator and another as a mental interrogator. This is what we have planned for you. Nanami, you would have been down for an all-round specialist but considering your delicate situation within your clan we cannot risk it. Do you understand what I am saying?"

I looked at the man in shock. That was one hell of a mental overload I had just received. Yoda was looking down at the ground stoically. He must feel uncomfortable about talking about his failure as a Shinobi in Root; for I assumed it was Root that they were talking about. Ibiki wasn't kidding when he said Yoda had some social issues to work out. "So you're saying that I will become a psychological interrogator? And that Yoda and I will be partners, filling in each other's weak spots?" I spoke slowly and unsurely.

"That is exactly what I am saying," said Ibiki, glancing at his watch quickly. "I must go shortly and so will round up what will happen from now no. Yoda and you shall be training together on regular occasions. The reason we have addressed this now and not when you have left the academy is because the younger you get into your mind that this will be your job the better and more efficient you will be without significant psychological trauma. You two also need to become an effective team and this will take time. You must learn to trust each other whole heartedly within these walls. This can be a dangerous game, and you need a trusted comrade."

I looked over to Yoda and looked him directly in the eye. He did the same and gave me an uncertain look. I nodded my head at the boy in agreement with Ibiki and said boy nodded lightly in return. I then looked away and addressed Ibiki.

"So you're conditioning me to the life of an interrogator in the Konoha Torture and Interrogation unit. Great," I mumbled with near hysterical humour.

Ibiki let out a loud, belly laugh and stood up. "Yes," he said honestly. "That is exactly what we are doing. I think you will make it far around here Hyuuga Nanami."

He motioned for me to follow him out of the room and we walked together, through twists and turns and hallways I was sure I would never be able to find my way out of again, until we were once again standing at the front entrance of the Hokage toward.

"Yoda will collect you every Saturday at dawn until dusk and every day after school until you can hardly stand. You will come here and you will train together on the art of interrogation. This will continue until you graduate the academy and can begin full time. Any questions?"

Before I could even open my mouth Ibiki had left and I was simply standing in the doorway gapping like a fish. "Well that was unexpected," I muttered dryly. I was about to step away when I felt a hand descend on my shoulder, preventing me from leaving. When I glanced around I saw it was Yoda and frowned. I hadn't realized he'd even been following us.

"Hyuuga Nanami," he simply said. I shrugged his hand off and looked up at the boy.

"Yes?" I asked wearily.

"You are very odd," he said with a straight face. "I do not want to work with you." Well at least he was to the point.

"I'm not too crazy about working with you either," I said in return with a raised eyebrow and a small smirk.

"It will certainly be interesting," said the boy seriously and without emotion.

I gave a barking laugh and smiled up at the boy with unrestrained amusement. This seemed to put him on edge immediately. It dawned on me that he probably wasn't used to frequent displays of emotion if he had been copped up in Root all this time. Then again, being a Hyuuga I shouldn't be showing any emotion at all anyway, but I had always been rather lax with this particular rule.

It might be fun to get this guy to lighten up, and I found myself looking forward to the challenge. "Aww, don't worry Jedi," I said with suggestive eyes, "I'm sure we're going to have loads of fun together." I winked at the boy and I could tell he was taken aback. I almost felt sorry for him.

"You really are odd. A bit of a fool really," Yoda said stoically but with an unsure edge.

"Playing the fool is always so much fun though," I said cryptically. The boy frowned momentarily and I laughed at his confusion. "I'll see you on Saturday Jedi." I turned away from the boy and began to walk back home. However I couldn't resist one more joke before I left and so called over my shoulder, "and may the force be with you!" I then burst into loud, joyous laughter and skipped home giggling to myself most of the way.

!

The next day Shikamaru and I were sitting on the tables in class during the 15 minute gap between lessons. I told my friend at my new, promising career in the T&I department and he just snorted in amusement and agreed that it would probably be my perfect job considering how irritating I could be. I decided to take that as a compliment. We sat together in companionable silence for a few moments before Shikamaru broke the peaceful atmosphere with a question.

"So who's the lucky guy?"

"Huh?"

"Who are you getting married to?"

"That's random… but I don't know," I replied with a pout. "The not knowing bit is extremely irritating and I won't even find out until I'm 18."

"Why 18? That doesn't make sense," said Shikamaru as he sat up straighter with a puzzled look on his face. "An arranged marriage is all about clan collaboration and inter-village relations. Wouldn't it be more beneficial to announce the engagement?"

I glanced over to my friend with surprise. I hadn't thought about that and, really, it didn't make sense to not announce the coming together of two clans. "Why do you think they're not saying anything then?" I asked Shikamaru. "I know you have a theory, so out with it."

"Well it could be a number of reasons I suppose. Sometimes when marriages between two clans are announced then there can be conflict from other clans who feel they have been cheated. Especially with a clan such as yours who only ever marry females outside their own bloodline if they don't have the Byakugan. Maybe your clan was worried that other clans within the village would throw up as fuss about unfair advantageous marriages." Shikamaru had a look of deep concentration on his face and I witnessed the boy bring his hands together and form his trademark 'thinking triangle', as I liked to call it.

"No, that doesn't sound right." It was a fair assessment of the situation but that couldn't be the only reason. "What else you got?"

"Well, it could also be problems with the other clan I suppose. Inter-clan conflict that the Hyuuga doesn't want to be associated with until it's resolved or maybe even that your clan didn't have a choice in the match and it was ordered by the Hokage? Or maybe even…" Shikamaru continued to come up with plausible theories but I stopped listening after a while.

_Inter-clan conflict? That couldn't mean…_ I gulped audibly and paled slightly at the idea. _And it would explain why… I hope I'm wrong._

Shikamaru cut off his train of thought and looked at me oddly. "Hey Nanami, what you thinking?"

"You don't think that I'm going to have to marry… Sasuke?" I squeaked.

"Yes?" I hadn't realized it but said Uchiha had been sitting behind us the entire time. "What are you two talking about?" Sasuke looked at me between glaring eyes as if he knew that I was up to no good. I recovered quickly from the surprise of seeing him there and stuck my tongue out at the boy with petulance.

"We were talking about you; not to you. So mind your own business," I sneered.

"I'll mind who's ever business I please," retorted the Uchiha.

"Sure, do whatever you want. I'll just beat you up again." I smirked at the boy in amusement as I saw the heat start to rise in his face.

"You did not beat me!"

Sasuke and I bickered for a good 10 minutes before Iruka sensei came back in and instructed the whole class to settle down. Sasuke returned to his desk in a huff having completely lost the battle of wits with me.

As soon as I had taken my seat next to Choji and Shikamaru my face instantly dropped and I let my head bang against the desk in frustration.

"Well you definitely have the chemistry," muttered a certain spikey hair genius to my left.

"Shut up," I growled. My stomach then suddenly seemed to get a very bad case of the butterflies. "You don't think that Sasuke and I… That really… I mean, I know his parents wanted us to be friends but…"

Shikamaru gave a very unattractive snort. "Who cares for now? Worrying about it would just be troublesome. You have years until that actually becomes relevant."

"Sometimes I think you have a far too lax view on life," I told my friend in a matter of fact voice. However, I did take the Nara's advice, as I knew he was right, and put it to the back of my head where it wouldn't bother me. Sasuke wasn't that bad, not really. Besides there really was very little I could do about it and it was just a theory anyway; we could be completely wrong. And plus, I was a going to be a Ninja when I grew up and who knew if I'd even make it to 18. No stress.

"By the way, you tell anyone about this and I will hunt you down." I cast a sideways look at my friend who just gave me a straight dead stare back.

"Please don't insult my intelligence," said the lazy Nara. "I don't have a death wish."

I smiled wickedly and tried my best to forget our previous conversation. I was only eight and so I still have ten years to go until this whole mess became an actual problems. I had a lot bigger issues to deal with before then.

**Thank you for all your lovely feedback from the last chapter! I'm glad you liked the interaction with Sasuke and Itachi as well as the dare they did hehe :3 I hope this chapter cleared up some issues from the last chapter about why they **_**might**_** possibly be waiting until there 18 to announce the engagement.**

**So this chapter turned out mega long but at least you now know where Nana's going to go in life. I didn't want it to be the typical OC joining team Kakashi, I wanted it to be different! Sasuke?! WHAT? I would very much like to hear your thoughts on Shikamaru's theory of who Nana's going to marry! You'll get to hear more on that in the next chapter as well! So yeah, a fear of spiders… I actually thought that Nanami's reaction to that was perfectly valid and some people just really, REALLY hate spiders and completely go to tears when they see one. Especially one so big and hairy and I'm getting shivers just thinking about it. **

**So there was a lot of Shikamaru and Nana interaction in this chapter as I just think the two bounce off each other so well, bless 'em. And last Yoda… okay so the name kind of ran away with itself but I hope that it at least added some comedy value. He will be an important character and I am sure you will grow to love him. He's a bit like Sai but not as detached as he actually never made the cut for Root. **

**One last thing, I tried my hardest to add the word 'melancholy' into this chapter because I have been watching 'The melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya' which I pretty funny and light hearted. Have a watch if you haven't already! So thank you again all you wonderful readers and please tell me what you think if you have a spare few minutes. Sorry for any spelling errors, please forgive my poor grammar and I'll see you soon! **


	9. Chapter 9

**Stamping on Butterflies**

Chapter 9

'_If you know the enemy and know yourself you need not fear the results of a hundred battles.' - Sun Tzu_

I was eleven years of age and today was the day of my Genin exams. As the morning dawned bright and early I was awoken from my peaceful slumber with an almighty slap round the face.

"You look ugly when you sleep," said a voice hovering above me. I blinked a few times in puzzlement and disorientation. It took hardly a few seconds to register the stinging sensation on my face and the sand coloured hair obscuring my view of the ceiling. I usually managed to wake up before he managed to slap me and was slightly angry at myself for my lack of awareness. So I did what any normal shinobi raised child would do; I punch the perpetrator in the gut very, very hard. Said boy buckled under the unexpected pressure to his abdomen as I sat up in bed; rubbing my probably bright red cheek. I wasn't at all shocked by the unconventional waking as this was usually how Yoda woke me up on training day's if I wasn't already awake by the time he came to collect me.

Looking out the window I noted that it was a little before sunrise and pouted. It was too early.

"Why are you here?" I complained to my partner who was now rolling around on the floor groaning. "I have my genin exams today. Let me sleep." I sat back in bed but found that I was already wide awake and there was really no point in even attempting to close my eyes.

Yoda made an illegible reply and I just roll my eyes at his dramatics. Not that he was being dramatic though, as I did have one nasty left hook and that punch in the stomach had to have hurt. I yawned, stretched and stood up. I stepped over Yoda's fallen body and made my way over to the bowl in the corner of the room to wash and freshen up.

"I thought we could train. You need all the help you can get if you're actually going to pass this exam," explain the teen after recovering from my attack.

"I'm very confident in my own abilities thank you very much," I said coolly; giving the ex-root operative an exasperated expression.

Yoda just hummed in acknowledgment at my reply as he poked around my room like a curious dog, something I never would have expected from him three years ago. Now, however, it was as if someone had turned on a switch in his head and he suddenly wanted to know everything. He was still emotionally constipated, but at least he had progressed slightly. So much so that the only reason he was here this morning was because he was worried about me. Not that he would ever tell me that, but I wasn't soon to be part of the T&I unit for nothing.

When I was ready and dressed Yoda and I went to our usual training grounds and ran through all the jutsu I could possibly be asked in the exam, which included; body transfer, transformation and clone techniques. Now, as you already know, I have huge difficulties with my chakra. I can control it but I struggle to use vast amounts of it at one time. Therefore, I can't do any type of ninjutsu very easily. So, if I was going to mess up with anything in this exam, it would be on the ninjutsu.

Thus, the stupid Jedi made me repeat them over and over again every chance he got. You know what they say 'practise makes perfect' and Yoda and his over the top intensive training sessions allowed me to finally perfect these jutsu. However, what Yoda seemed to sometimes forget, I'm just human and so I have my limits.

"Enough!" I complained, stamping my foot for emphasis. "If I practise these anymore then I'll run out of chakra." I cross my arms over my chest and sat on the floor in an undignified heap.

"I suppose it will do," muttered the sandy hair teen with a frown.

Following that we ran through a number of kata's; Yoda with his katana and me with my Bow staff. When we were done with those, we fought. Now I should tell you that over the past few years I had actually gotten quite effective in fighting with my staff and could easily fight off a genin who was using only taijutsu. This was all thanks to the brutal teaching techniques of the almost-ANBU operative Yoda. With him it was a 'learn fast or die trying' approach. When I told him this he reassured me that he wouldn't actually take my life if things got to that, but I wasn't so sure.

Anyway, so I was pretty reliable in a fight but I was nothing compared to my partner. He was as fast as the wind and as precise as he could be and I'm going to be honest; I was jealous. I never could get anywhere close to beating him but the whole thing was a learning experience and I was certainly learning a lot about dodging from the guy. And, to be fair to him, he was a pretty good teacher.

Yoda had grown attached to me during our time together and, if my assumption was correct, I was his only friend in the world. So it was perfectly understandable that he was worried that I wouldn't pass the exam and so we wouldn't be able to start properly working together as a team. I thought it was kind of sweet that he was fussing over me like a mother hen, making sure I was ready for my 'big day'.

Yoda and I had gained a rather odd kind of friendship. I had to slowly introduce the idea of friendship to him because he had never come across the concept before in his emotionally sheltered life in Root. But it was hard not to become friends with someone when you had trained and worked together almost every day for the past several years; knowing each other's strengths and weaknesses inside and out.

When we had first started working together he was unsure and reluctant to do anything other than sneer in my face at my mistakes and look smug at his own accomplishments. He would trip me on purpose and more than once Ibiki had to break up a fight between the two of us. Once he got so tired of our bickering that he locked us in an interrogation room all night. He thought it was hilarious when he came in the next morning and found that we had fallen asleep leaning on each other for comfort. Yoda hadn't spoken to me for a week following that incident and became even more snobbish than usual.

It's true to say that at first he had a rather big superiority complex, but fortunately I soon enough beat this out of him and he started to open up. Now, you know when you expect someone to open up and it turns out that there was always a little lost puppy inside them just begging for a little attention.

Yeah? No. That isn't what happened here. He didn't have enough emotional capabilities to even know what a little lost puppy should be. Instead, he was more like a little lost sociopath.

Which was fine; I wasn't one to judge psychological problems when I had the mind of an adult hidden in my pre-pubescent body. So I dealt with it and accepted him, which I don't think he was ever expecting. He told me about his past and how he had joined Root after his parent's deaths when he was seven and that the ANBU organisation had never been able to properly condition him to act without questioning orders and without feelings.

"Well you seem pretty detached from emotions to me," I had commented one sunny, sticky Thursday afternoon a few months after we had first started training together. We were sitting under a tree in the far corner of one of the many training grounds dotted throughout Konoha. We had been running through some paired combat for hours and after nearly fainting from heat exhaustion I had refused to continue and so here we found ourselves collapsed in the shade.

"Not nearly as detached as some of my old comrades," muttered the boy mournfully.

"Well that's not a bad thing," I contradicted. "I mean, you're pretty stuffy so I couldn't even begin to imagine what they would be like."

"They are deadly killing machines," said Yoda blankly and with a hint of jealousy.

"Who would want to be a machine?" I looked over to the Sandy coloured boy.

"I would like to be an instrument of killing used for the benefit of my village. A machine would not feel pointless emotions." Yoda sneered at the ground and turned his head away so I wouldn't glance the expression. I stood up from my position against the tree, walked over to the moody boy and stood over him with my hands on his hips.

"Well tough!" I shouted in his face. "You must be a person because I don't make friends with machines!" I grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled him off the ground, bringing him face to face with me and looking unblinkingly in his eyes.

"Who said we were friends anyway?" scoffed Yoda scornfully, but this time there wasn't as much venom in his bite, as if he was unsure of something.

"I said we're friends so you better believe it!" I yelled at the boy. I then froze with a wide eye look and dropped my partner on the floor. "And I just sounded like Naruto…" I muttered with a dry throat and a small pout. Dam the blond had really worn off on me.

"You sound like an idiot," Yoda said, picking himself off the floor. He kept his head away from me but I could see a ghost of a smile tugging at his lips.

"Hey! Shut up you stupid Jedi!" I shouted back but more light hearted then before.

From then on we were officially friends. Ibiki hadn't let us learn anything about T&I until we became an effective team and so as soon as we had reached the friendship milestone he allowed us to start to learn our respective trades; me with mental manipulation and him with physical torture. This was where Yoda and I went our separate ways to try and learn our individual professions. Ibiki took Yoda under his wing and I was passed over to Yamanaka Inoichi to train with him during my free time after school.

Yoda and I spent a lot of time together still, when we weren't with our respective sensei's, to keep up our team work. Yet despite this, my partner never really came into contact with any of my other friends much, but he did meet Neji on a few occasions. The first time they met it was on one of the days when Yoda had to physically drag me from my bed to get me up and train with him. The ex-ANBU operative was usually very successful at sneaking into the compound without getting seen – he was practically my personal alarm clock. The first time that Neji saw Yoda sneaking into my room was actually pretty funny.

I was sound asleep, as are most at five in the morning, but as soon as I registered a menacing presence in the room I woke up and went on alert. I felt the air shift around me and before my partner could land a blow across my face I reach up and grabbed his wrist in a tight grip. Without opening my eyes I elbowed Yoda in the groin and rolled over to continue my sleep. Yoda let out a rather undignified yelp and collapsed on the floor; clutching his crown jewels.

And this was the moment Neji decided to walk in.

"What do you think you are doing in my sister's bedroom?" came a voice from the entrance to my room.

"You must be Neji-san," said a choked reply from the fallen boy on the floor.

"I was about to protect my sisters honour, but I see that she had already done the duty for me," said my brother with amusement and yet still suspicious of the intruder. "Who are you?" The floorboards creaked as Neji walked further into the room and stopped when he was standing directly over my fallen partner. "Actually it does not matter who you are, you are intruding on Hyuuga property and therefore will be dealt with accordingly."

I heard the noise of a body being dragged away and smiled to myself. I must have hit him harder in his unmentionables than I thought to have incapacitated him for so long. Yoda was technically ex-ANBU and could destroy Neji if he really wanted.

_Karma's a bitch,_ I thought menacingly. He shouldn't have been walking me up at ungodly hours on weekends. Had it been slightly earlier and had I been slightly more awake, I might have rescued him from the merciless clutches of my brother. As it was I was too tired and so immediately after hearing my door close I drifted off to sleep.

Later on that morning when I had woken up again and gotten ready for the day, I went in search of my brother. I found Neji meditating under the Sakura blossom tree and so took a seat next to him.

"So about that boy who you dragged from my room this morning…" I started; leaning against the tree and crossing my legs casually.

"You won't have to worry about him bothering you anymore," replied Neji and as he opened his eyes and looked at me with a blank face.

"Hmm…" I hummed in amusement. "Well you see that was Yoda; you know my partner I told you about? He likes waking me up and dragging me out of bed really early."

"What? Then why did you assault him if he's your comrade?" Neji looked at me with slight horror.

"Because he likes waking me up and dragging me out of bed really early. Weren't you listening?" I looked at my brother like he was stupid and moved to stand up. He just gave me an apprehensive look in return that questioned my sanity slightly. "What did you do with him anyway? I suppose it's about time to start training."

"I simply dragged and dumped him outside the gates of the compound." Neji attempted to compose himself once again and return to meditation, but I could see already that it was a lost cause.

"Did you give any embarrassing speeches about how he should never come near me again?" I asked hopefully and with an amused glint in my eyes.

Neji gave me a dry look. "That would be unnecessary. I thought he would have learnt his lesson considering the state I found him in. However, if I should catch him again I will know to leave him be. He is your team mate so you can deal with him."

I gave a slight shrug and went off in search of my sandy haired partner. Leaving the compound at the front gates I was immediately greeted with the sight of a boy sitting on the wall opposite the entrance with his arms cross over his chest and a slight pout gracing his features. I had never seen Yoda pout and so it was a novel experience which I took the time to appreciate as I approached him.

"Yoda?" I questioned, trying to catch eye contact with the boy.

"That wasn't as fun as it usually is," mumbled the youth with a sour expression.

"Yeah, well, what goes around comes around," I said with a self-satisfied air, and yet I heard guilt lacing my tone. If I was going to be honest I felt slightly bad about being so harsh with the boy. I didn't mean to hit him so hard that he couldn't move – and possibly not have children. I moved my hand around to the back of my head and ruffled my hair in embarrassment. "I explained to Neji who you were and he said that he won't come and forcibly drag you out of my room again. And I'll try not to hit you so hard next time."

I looked at the floor and purse my lips awkwardly. It was a half arsed apology and he knew it, but at least it was something. When I glanced back up to Yoda I found that he had his usual blank mask occupying his features and yet something in his eyes made them softer than they usually were. Before I could look more into the expression Yoda clipped me around the left ear like a scolded child and then jumped to the side out of range of my retaliation.

"Well then, are you ready for me to beat you in training once again? I thought you might have improved slightly in all the time we're been working together, but you are still an extremely poor fighter compared to me." And with these words he marched away in the direction of the training grounds with me following after him angrily; killer intent practically spilling from my pours.

When Yoda first started his lessons with Ibiki I was worried about the young teen and his mental wellbeing. I mean being a torturer had to be a pretty heavy job, but my fears were ungrounded. In a way it was perfect that Yoda was partly a psychopath because it meant that later on, when he actually became an active member of the torture unit, he wouldn't be affected by others pain. He wouldn't enjoy it like some sadist but he also wouldn't shy away from it. It was just something that had to get done; his job. Not only this but I hadn't factored in that Yoda was actually over two years older than me and was officially an ANBU operative. Thus, he had a large amount of field experience. This also meant that not only was Yoda training, but he was also going on missions and playing an active role in the great community of Konoha.

I could say I was jealous but I wasn't, and that was because of one person; Inoichi. He was a fantastic sensei who taught me some of the greatest life lessons anyone could have.

"In a game of wits," he said, "you need to be on your toes the whole time. You need to know your own weaknesses inside and out so that if someone ever tries to use them against you, you can still gain control of the situation. Mental manipulation is a game of Shogi."

You could tell that Inoichi was good friends with Shikaku as we always started off our sessions with a game of Shogi. It seemed that everyone in this world just wanted me to play this stupid board game! Knowing my father I would say that one of the reasons he had been teaching me to play this game since I was very young was because he had been planning all along for me to join the T&I unit.

And according to Inoichi; "Everything within that interrogation room in a game. You need to win that game and the only way you'll be able to do that is if you stay 20 steps ahead of your opponent and prepared to change your game plan if something goes wrong."

Now I have to admit something to you; Inoichi was my first crush. He was just gorgeous, and what was even more embarrassing was that he knew I had a crush on him and found it cute. It was a degrading experience. However, fortunately for me this crush didn't last very long.

Now I can imagine that you probably think that I had a holiday in training compared to Yoda. Wrong! Inoichi did whatever he could do to get under my skin and wind me up.

Things Inoichi-sensei did to annoy me included; continuously calling me Mimina because he thought it 'sounded better', inviting me to have ramen with him but leaving before the bill came so I had to pay, and somehow (probably with the help of Ino) spreading a rumour around school that I was actually a boy but just liked to dress like a girl. Naruto actually came up to me and said that he was very offended that I had never told him but that he would accept me for who I wanted to be. I almost cried with how sweet he was being, but then I punched him in the face for believing the stupid rumour. I mean, did I really look like a boy?

The most frustrating one was when Inoichi said he was going to shut me in a room for three hours so that I could find a state of 'inner-peace' without outside influence. However, he 'forgot' I was in there and left it for 24 hours instead.

I sometimes got to hang out with Ino after training and because of this Ino became my closest girl-friend. Well, that is to say, my only girl-friend apart from Hinata (who didn't count because she was related to me). Unfortunately she was also training under her father and so asked me, very politely, if I wouldn't mind helping her practise her mind-body transfer jutsu. Of course I said yes but the experience wasn't pleasurable. I endured through and Inoichi got a good few laughs out of it too.

So there were a lot of light-hearted pranks that my sensei pulled on me and on quite a few occasions with the help of Ino, but sometimes he got serious and really hit some major pressure points. Usually I could take it, I had pretty thick skin, but Inoichi needed to teach me a lesson I would never forget. It was our last ever session together as student and teacher as the following week I would be taking my Genin exam and I needed to concentrate on my studies for that. Inoichi-sensei had said that when I became a genin I would no longer be his pupil but his comrade. So we played one last game of Shogi together.

"So you've got an arranged marriage Mimi," stated the Yamanaka clan head casually.

"Yeah," I said in confirmation, not really listening to Inoichi as I moved a piece on the board and took his knight.

"You must be pretty angry having your clan plan your life for you." The man spoke with a careless tone, completely contradictory to the subject at hand.

"Not really," I answered nonchalantly, waiting for the big bomb to drop.

"You're not really even a person. More like a piece of goods to be traded between clans." Inoichi looked down at the board and moved a piece to take one of mine. I simply smiled at his observation as it brushed over me like water off a ducks back. I knew these problems but had overcome them a while back; I didn't care anymore.

"I suppose you're correct," I mumble with a bored persona around me.

"Well it not really the clan whose doing this; its more Hiashi, your own uncle. Man, you must hate his guts for the death of your father," Inoichi's tone suddenly became very serious and he glanced up at me with a sharp look, as if anticipating a volcanic eruption. All I could do was smile at his caution.

"Say that to my brother and you might find the reaction you are looking for," I said with a wistful expression which hid the tightness in my shoulders which I forced to relax.

"Yes, your brother. So much potential. It's such a shame really." Inoichi shook his head and moved another piece of the board.

"I know what you're trying to do so stop it," I said lightly but with warning behind my tone.

"I mean, with that curse-seal that your clan use. No freewill. That has to be hard." The light hearted tone had once again entered my sensei's tone as he continued to play the game of wits.

I didn't comment. I moved a piece of the board without thought and a moment later it was taken by Inoichi. He was getting to me and he knew it. But what right did he have to make such comments? No right at all, that's what.

Inoichi looked at me with cold eyes as he said his next words. "Not that you'll know anything about that though. You may have an arranged marriage but at least you have freedom. You're the lucky one in the family I suppose. Do you think your brother resents you for your freedom? Do you think he would even hate you for not ever understanding him?" Inoichi sneered in my face and my blood boiled at the injustice of his words. But what was most difficult was that he was bringing up fears that I had kept hidden deep inside me for so long. I knew that Neji loved me, but there was always that doubt that he would hate me, like he did Hinata, because I did not have the curse seal.

"I said stop it," I said through gritted teeth; standing in an attempt to remove myself from the situation as bitterness welded up inside me. As went to turn and storm out of the room Inoichi stood as well and grabbed onto my arm tightly, preventing me from leaving.

"Stop running from the truth. You can't hide from who you are so confront it. You should feel grateful that you don't have the same fate as some of your clansmen; as your brother. If he resents you then there is nothing you can do." If Neji did hate me then it would break my heart into a million pieces. Because I did understand what he was going through, because I was going through it as well. I put my hands over my ears and closed my eyes tightly shut. Inoichi continued to tell me how I was like Hinata in my position and that Neji must see himself as below me and that he must have at least some resentment towards me and-

"Shut up!" I shouted at me sensei with all the venom I could muster. He didn't know anything and his judgemental words cut me like a knife. I didn't ask for any of this, and yet I was stuck between a rock and a hard place. Not being able to talk freely with even my own brother because of this stupid curse seal! Having to go through an arranged marriage because I was not tied to the clan through the Byakugan and yet having the curse-seal imprinted on me for the rest of my life anyway!

"Survivors guilt," stated the man as he placed checkmate, and the game was over. I looked down at the board with a blank expression and realization at what he had been doing. How had I let him get under my skin like that? However Inoichi's next words caused me some confusion. "…I think."

"You think?" I asked through gritted teeth.

"Well, there's obviously something else going on here that I don't know about. You're very good at hiding it and I only guessed because I know you so well," said the Yamanaka with a thoughtful expression. "I know that the Hyuuga are hiding something, but I suppose that's not my place to pry." The Yamanaka looked to the side, lost in thought.

I didn't acknowledge Inoichi's observations.

"Nanami," spoke a gentle voice, completely contradictory from the coldness it had, just moments before, held. I looked over to my sensei of three years with pursed lips. Inoichi walked around the Shogi board and came face to face with me, placing a hand on my shoulder in a comforting gesture.

"What have I told you about your weaknesses?" he asked with a light heart.

"That I must know them inside out," I said with slumped shoulders.

"It has been a privilege to teach you and be your sensei. But if there is something I wish you to have learnt from me, it would be this. Know yourself better than anyone else in the world. This could be the difference between life and death."

That was the most valuable lesson anyone, to this day, ever taught me. It showed me how the tables could always turn and how delicate each and every one of us really was.

!

And so the day of my genin exams finally arrived. At this point I was technically a year too young, but they decided that there really was little point in my continuing on at the academy for another year as T&I really wanted me to get started on missions with Yoda. The stuffy Jedi left me at the training grounds and told me that he would come and collect me tomorrow morning at the usual time so that we could begin the official partnership. I think he was trying to wish me good luck in an awkwardly unemotional and so I gave him a hug and a heartfelt thank you.

After cleaning up from the training I met Neji at the front of the compound and we walked to the academy together. It was Neji's big day as well but I could tell that he wasn't at all concerned about whether or not he would pass. Neji knew, without a doubt, that he would pass these exams with flying colours. What he was nervous about, however, was that maybe he would get struck with a God awful genin team and be doomed to spend the rest of his existence with a bunch of morons.

I reassured him that he probably would be struck with at least one moron, but that hopefully said moron would help to remove that poll from up his arse that had been bothering him for a while. He didn't talk to me for the rest of the walk to the school. When we got there I headed to my usual classroom to meet up with all my friends before the exam. As you can imagine, they were all pretty pissed that I was going to be the first to become a ninja when they still all had one year of schooling left.

"But it's not fair," pouted Naruto.

"Yeah, well, it's only so that I can get an in depth education in how to interrogate people. So there's not really any point in me staying at school," I reasoned to the irritated blonde.

"I know that," he mumbled in reply like a spoilt child. "But I wanna be a ninja too!" I shook my head in despair and decided that I should lower myself to his level to cheer the poor boy up.

"It's just because I'm strong than you," I said flippantly. Of course his reaction was predictable.

"What!? No you're not! I'm stronger than you and I'm going to be Hokage one day!" Naruto yelled at the top of his voice. No one paid him any attention though as they were used to the blond declaring his ambitions on a daily basis.

"I hate to say this but I agree with the dobe. You graduating early is unfair," Sasuke walked into the classroom with his usual strut and placed his bag on one of the desks at the back.

"Shut up teme!" Naruto screamed at the Uchiha from force of habit. It was kind of their morning ritual that they would get into a fight instead of a simple "Hey, you alright?"

"Are you stupid? I just said I agreed with you," sneered Sasuke at the jinchuuriki.

"Yeah, well it could have done without the attitude," said Naruto as he curled his fists ready to strike out at his rival. Before he could, however, he was struck on the head by the class's top kunoichi.

"Don't speak to Sasuke-kun like!" said Sakura with a dark glint in her eye.

"But Sakura-chan…!" said Naruto clutching his now aching head and looking up at the ranging pink haired youth with fear. The girl merely flicked her hair over her shoulder as if she was brushing off a particularly annoying fly, and walked over to Sasuke with an attempt at being casual. However, before she could get there, said boy was already surrounded by his usual fan girls reassuring him that Naruto was an idiot and that he, Sasuke, was really cool.

"Oh Sasuke-kun!"

"You don't need to speak to that loser."

"We're here for you!"

I sniggered into my hands as I watched the young boy get swallowed in a sea of prepubescent girls. Sakura stood watching the crowd for a moment in shock and then slumped her shoulders, returning to her seat at the front of the class. I spared a glance in Ino's direction, who was one of the many girls currently harassing Sasuke, and caught sight of her looking after Sakura with a sad expression. However, when she saw me watching her it changed to a cheery smile and she abandoned her futile flirting to come and wish me good luck.

"You're coming to the Akimichi's barbecue restaurant tonight?" asked the blond with an endearing smile. "Choji and Shikamaru are going to be there with their families and my dad's making me go. But it wouldn't be so bad if you went."

"I'm sorry, I can't come. Its tradition in my clan for when a member becomes a ninja to have a formal meal," I told the girl with a bitter taste in my mouth. I hated Hyuuga formal dinners as they were tedious and boring, and not to mention the kimono's they made us wear were ridiculously uncomfortable.

"Too bad, it would be so much more fun with you. Well I'll see you round no doubt! There's no doubt you'll pass so I feel a good luck is wasted on you." Ino gave me one of her breath taking smiles that would one day break many a man's heart and turned and went to sit down. Sasuke's fan club had stopped harassing him and so, seeing Ino's retreating form, the boy calmly walked up to me, stood on my left and continued the conversation as if we had had no interruptions. "I mean, you're nothing special. You don't even have the Byakugan."

"And isn't that lucky for you," I mumbled sarcastically under my breath, too low for Sasuke to hear.

"What?" sneered the Uchiha.

"I said you're just jealous!"

"I'm not jealous of someone like you."

"Are you sure? Your face seems slightly tinted green."

"That's because I'm sick of looking at your ugly face."

"Well you won't have to look at it much longer as I'm going to be a Ninja and you still have one year left at the academy." I stuck my tongue out at Sasuke with a wink and he just spluttered and crossed his arms over his chest with a pout. Getting Sasuke to pout was always one of my favourite past times.

As painful as it is for me to say this; Sasuke and I were friends. The friendship mainly consisted of snide remarks and biting comments, but, as Shikamaru put it, it was how we showed our love for each other. Neither Shikamaru nor I had mentioned to Sasuke our theory that we could one day be wed; in fact we hadn't mentioned it to anyone nor had we hardly talked about it in the last few years. It really was as if it was put to the back of our minds. I was friends with Sasuke because I liked the boy and no other reason than that; if it so happened that we were one day forced to wed then at least we were friends.

But really, the Sasuke I knew was really different from the person from the TV series all those years ago. I knew the reason for that and it was the most obvious thing in the world; the Uchiha massacre. Sasuke was a moody and relatively normal twelve year old that wasn't hell bent on getting revenge for his slaughtered clan.

Said Uchiha pulled me out of my thoughts with his next few words.

"Whatever, I'll see you round. Try not to do anything stupid in your test." Sasuke walked off back to his seat and I was left standing there, blinking after his retreating form. He had just wished me luck in his very own messed up way, bless him.

But saying that, what was it with my friends and their inability to communicate good will?

"Thanks Sasuke-kun!" I called to him. "I'll try my best!" I witnessed as his ears glowed bright red, but apart from that he gave no indication that he had actually heard me.

Shikamaru and Choji, as you can imagine, were the most supporting out of all my friends and made me promise that we would still be close friends even if we didn't see each other all the time.

"I'm going to miss you in class Nana," said Choji, "but we'll still be friends and you know you are welcome at the Akimichi's anytime. It's just a shame you can't come tonight for a goodbye meal."

"You make it sound like I'm leaving the Village. Anyway, this is all on the grounds of whether I pass or not you know," I said wistfully.

"Yeah, but you will pass," Shikamaru reassured half-heartedly. "Dam, it's going to be such a drag staying friends with you." The young Nara laid his head on his desk and began to pretend none of us were there.

"It'll be a drag to stay my friend, huh?" I mumbled in a menacing voice, one that I knew caused Shikamaru to go on edge. Ever since training with Inoichi I had been trying out my some of my interrogation techniques on my friends. However; Choji was too sweet, Naruto to dense and Sasuke to violent. Therefore, the job was usually left to the Nara heir. Because of this he had built up somewhat of immunity to my scary charm, just like Yoda, but if I played my cards right…

Shikamaru looked up as he registered the change in my tone.

"I-I didn't… w-what I meant to say was… Nana I…" The Nara suddenly went very white, gave me an unsure glare, and then once again rested his head on the desk in a defeated manor as if to say that the world had just gotten too much for the poor boy.

I laughed and gave him a hard slap on the back. "Don't worry about it Shikamaru! I will make sure that we remain friends to the end of time." For some reason the young genius didn't seem reassured by this idea.

The exam lasted all day, what with the different skill sets we had to demonstrate and all the papers the sensei's had to mark. But both Neji and I walked out of that building at the end with Konoha head bands in our hands and self-satisfied expressions on our faces.

!

That night I sat in an extremely uncomfortable dress around one of the many very well decorated tables in the presence of my entire clan. Neji and I were on the head table along with Hizashi, Hinata and Hanabi as the event was in honour of our graduation.

It all felt very forced and formal and I wanted to cry from the sheer awkwardness of the entire evening. For the most I chatted quietly with Hinata and Neji, as I was sat between them, and barely touched the too rich, too dry meal that had been prepared for us. I tried to get the two cousins to talk politely with one another but when Hinata tried to address Neji he would just reply with one word answers in a clipped and cold tone.

This, of course, caused me to try and kick my brother very hard from under the table. However, instead of feeling my foot connect with Neji's shin, I heard the gentle sound of material tearing. I froze as the sound reach my ears, and prayed that I was the only one to notice. However, as luck would have it, I was not.

"Nanami-san?" asked Hinata in a concerned voice. I looked at my cousin and brother; my eyes shining with laughter at the ridiculousness of the situation. _What was I going to do now? _Neji stared back at me like I was a class A idiot and in this one look made it quite clear that this was my issue alone to deal with; I would receive no pity from him. This just made me wink at my brother cheeky, which in turn made him shake his head and return to his meal.

Before I could begin to brain storm about how I could resolve this situation subtly I turned around and met the completely unamused, not-funny-in-the-slightest, never-laughed-in-his-life, expression of my father – who was only on the other side of Hinata.

And I knew he had heard the ripping of my kimono. His dead expression gave me shivers up my spine and somewhere in the back of my mind I made myself a mental note to ask him how he did that expression so effectively. I swallowed a lump that had formed in my throat and looked down at my lap shamefully.

"Hyuuga-sama, may I be excused?" I asked my father in a rather squeaky voice.

"I think that would be best," came the cold reply. I felt my face glowing bright red under my father's glare and so quickly exited the room in an extremely awkward fashion to try and make it unobvious that I had damaged my clothing. I got a few odd looks but thankfully I was seated near the door and so slipped out quietly and quickly

When I got back to my room I cracked a smile at the situation, knowing that in life it was always best to laugh at the little things. I removed my silly dress and flung it on the floor in relief and reached for night clothes, but as I did my stomach grumbled in protest, as I hadn't really touched my meal. Now this would not do at all. I paused for a moment as a brilliant idea came to mind and a smile spread across my face.

!

The Akimichi clan's restaurant was alive with laughter and drinks as three of the Konoha's most joyous clans came together and shared in each other's company. The rowdy atmosphere left for quiet conversations to go unnoticed and so when a small eleven year old walked in and made her way through the crowd, only a few even acknowledged her presence.

"Hmm, isn't that Nanami? I thought Choji said she couldn't make it?" said Akimichi Choza in confusion.

"The Hyuuga have that clan thing," confirmed the Nara Shikaku.

"Looks like she got out of it somehow though," laughed Yamanaka Inoichi. "I have taught her well."

"Knowing her she probably did it by accident," commented the Nara. "She's not the most strategic after all. More run in, ninjutsu blazing."

"Or rather genjutsu as she really is horrendously bad at Ninjutsu. I've taught her a few useful genjutsu and she's quite proficient at them. Not Kurenai standards but she'll be pretty good at them none the less." Inoichi looked over to his student once again and watched as his daughter pounced on the young Hyuuga in relief at having another girl present. Inoichi chuckled to himself before turning back to his friends and sake.

"Shikamaru, Choji and Nanami are pretty good friends," observed Shikaku while nursing his alcohol lovingly as if life was just simply too much effort. "I know Shikamaru was disappointed when he found out Nanami was going to graduate early. He wanted the three of them to be on a genin team together; although he'll never admit that."

"It was always going to be another Ino-Shika-Cho genin team," said Choza with a nostalgic smile. "Though no doubt Ino and Shikamaru will end up working in the T&I department anyway with their skills."

"Sometimes I feel that Shikamaru is even more intelligent than me," mumbled the elder Nara. "I think that's why him and Nanami get on so well."

"I know what you mean." Inoichi took a swig of sake and sighed in relief. "Sometimes I feel like Nana's thirty instead of eleven," commented the Yamanaka clan head with a frown. "Man, what I would do to get in that tiny little head of hers."

"I wonder what she knows that is so important that the Hokage himself asked you not to use your mind reading jutsu on her." Shikaku looked over his shoulder at the dark haired youth with a frown. That she had information that even he, the Jonin commander, didn't know meant very serious business.

"It's weird not knowing. Whenever I've had trainees with me in the past I've always had a look inside their head, with their permission of course, so that I knew exactly what to do with them. But with Nana…" Inoichi discarded the tiny cup and just grabbed the sake bottle and took a swig.

"It is a shame about the marriage though," muttered Shikaku with a shake of his head.

"Well you were the only one out of the three of us to approach the Hyuuga about the possibility of marriage…" Inoichi raised his eyebrows suggestively, which in return only caused the Nara to roll his eyes at his friend's childish behaviour. "I should have asked as well."

"Why in the world would you have approached them Inoichi?" Choza asked with confusion. "Ino's a girl."

"Yeah, well, you never know these days." The mind reader gave the two men a wink and finished off the bottle in one smooth motion.

Shikaku gave his friend a hesitant look before continuing, "The Nara clan don't really do that kind of thing usually, as it's much too troublesome to organise. But I know what good friends the two kids are and thought that it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world for them. Shame the Hyuuga said no." The Nara head looked over to his son and cracked a smile as he watched Nanami poke and prod Shikamaru to try and get a rise. "I'm rather fond of the girl and I know of the… other options that were available for the child."

Choza and Inoichi immediately sobered up. Choza lowered his voice as he spoke. "You mean…?"

"We all know what's been happening with the Uchiha as of late. That could be the reason that the Hyuuga haven't announced the engagement to the rest of the village. Whether or not they announce it the marriage would still be extremely beneficial for both parties." The Nara lent forward on the table and bowed his head thoughtfully.

"So it's definitely Uchiha?" whispered Inoichi; concern lacing his features.

"It's more than likely," said Shikaku with the same worried eyes. "I wouldn't be surprised if it was the Hokage himself who dictated the marriage to calm the conflict."

"She'll be fine," said the Akimichi clan head with genuine conviction. "She's a tough one to crack. I'm sure she'll handle whatever they throw at her."

Shikaku and Inoichi nodded in agreement and the topic of conversation was changed to more light hearted talk. Nanami sat with her friends, not in the slightest aware of the conversation that had just taken place. This was probably best as she had enough to think about as it was.

Tomorrow was her first day as a Ninja.

And she was ready.

!

**Number one: I'm so glad that you all like Yoda's character so much! He's meant to be a bit like Sai but not as bad as he didn't actually quite make it into Root. But he's definitely emotionally constipated. Number two: I'm sorry about the confusion in the previous chapter. She was, in fact, 8 years of age and not 9 (typo on my part)! And Thirdly: Thank you for all your lovely feedback! I'm over the moon that so many of you like this story :D **

**Okay, so onto this chapter. So first with the time skip. I didn't want to add in unnecessary narrative that drags the story on and isn't really relative. I love speech and character interaction if you haven't already guessed and I wanted to get the ball rolling and get into some real interesting arcs. At this point we still don't know Yoda enough but I hope you got a general idea of his personality from this chapter and what their team dynamics will be like. Should prove interesting I think!**

**Right, Inoichi. He might not be typically what he was portrayed as in the Manga but it kind of just flowed like that and proved entertaining. Very good at what he does but a bit of a joker and a light hearted man. I hope you enjoyed reading him as much as I enjoyed writing him.**

**And finally, I was unsure about whether to add the last scene in but I wanted to clear some things up and one of these being her NOT being engaged to Shikamaru. I'm really sorry about that and I hope you can forgive me… But he will still be playing a major role in future events! Because we love Shikamaru! **

**I will try to keep you on your toes. Be warned though as some things you will see coming and others you will be surprised at! Got to have a nice balance of both after all.**

**Another nice long chapter for you and I hope you enjoyed it. I am extremely sorry about the poor spelling and grammar! I do read through it and check over it before I post it, but I'm not very good at it. My Beta is editing for me so it will eventually get done :D (But if there are any major, embarrassing flaws I won't be offended if you point them out to me. For all of you who have already done this I thank you!)**

**Thanks again and I look forward to hearing your feedback! Until next time… **


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